Raise your own monarch baby! If you've never seen a caterpillar miraculously transform into a butterfly, now is your chance! (Hands-On Science).You Need: shoe box * scissors scissors Cutting instrument or tool consisting of a pair of opposed metal blades that meet and cut when the handles at their ends are brought together. Modern scissors are of two types: the more usual pivoted blades have a rivet or screw connection between the cutting ends * plastic wrap * scotch tape * monarch egg or caterpillar (commonly found on milkweed milkweed, common name for members of the Asclepiadaceae, a family of mostly perennial herbs and shrubs characterized by milky sap, a tuft of silky hairs attached to the seed (for wind distribution), and (usually) a climbing habit. leaves) * milkweed leaves * glass jar * paper towel * rubber band * water To Do: 1. Use a shoebox shoe·box n. 1. An oblong box, usually made of cardboard, for holding a pair of shoes. 2. Something resembling or suggestive of such a box, as a plain, rectangular building or a cramped room or dwelling. Noun 1. to create a chamber to raise your monarch baby. Cut a large rectangular "window" in the shoebox lid and tape plastic wrap over the opening. Stand the shoebox on its end. 2. Find and capture a monarch egg or caterpillar (commonly found grazing on milkweed during spring and summer). Do not separate it from the leaf it is resting on. Take it home along with a handful of milkweed leaves for food. Give it a name! 3. Before placing the milkweed leaves in the shoebox, wrap the stems in a piece of moist paper towel. Next, cover the paper towel with a piece of plastic wrap and secure it with a rubber band. Keep unused milkweed fresh by storing the stems in a jar of water. 4. Place the egg or caterpillar on a milkweed leave in the shoebox. Be sure to keep the cage clean, and replace old milkweed leaves. 5. Over the next 10 days carefully monitor the monarch's stages of transformation. Note: a healthy caterpillar will suspend itself from the top of the box as it begins its transformation. Near day 10, a butterfly should emerge from the pupa pupa (py  `pə), name for the third stage in the life of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis, i.e., develops from the egg through the larva and the pupa stages to the adult. , or chrysalis chrysalis (krĭs`əlĭs): see pupa. . 6. Once the butterfly begins to flap its wings, remove the plastic wrap and set it free! Think About It: How long did it take for the caterpillar to form a pupa? How long did it take before you Could see a butterfly take shape inside the pupa? Resources: The Great Butterfly Hunt by Ethan Herberman, Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. , Inc., 1990, p. 21. University of Kansas's Monarch Watch on rearing monarchs: www.monarchwatch.org/rear/index.htm Can't find a butterfly? Check out educationalscience.com |
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