Butterfly Bingo

Butterfly Bingo

Butterfly Bingo Mardon Skipper (Photo by Erik Renquist) Objectives: Overview: 1. Students will identify The Lepidoptera order, including butterflies, skippers and species within the moths, demonstrates very well the diversity that exists within a Lepidoptera order by single order of organisms at Cascade-Siskiyou National matching the species Monument. Students discover the rich diversity of this order names and through games of bingo, using butterfly species found at the characteristics through a monument. The characteristics, food preferences or habitats game of bingo 2. Students can are presented, then the students match these to butterflies on recognize and properly the bingo sheets. name at least 3 different butterflies found at Background Information: Cascade-Siskiyou NM The biodiversity of a region includes all life (the animals and plants including insects, fungi and bacteria) as well as the Materials: interactions between all that life and the habitats in that region. In Bingo Cards 2002, by presidential proclamation, President Clinton created Tokens Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument to preserve the large amount Butterfly sheets of biodiversity in this region. Nearly 120 different species of Eco-region Map butterflies live in Cascade-Siskiyou NM. This is one of the highest degrees of diversity for butterflies in the United States. Duration: There are over 700 butterfly species in North America, most 20 - 40 minutes visible through spring and summer. The Lepidoptera order includes butterflies, skippers and moths. Most moths have furry bodies and feathered antenna while butterflies have smooth bodies and slim Alignment to antenna. Butterflies are predominantly diurnal, flying during the Oregon State day, while moths are predominately nocturnal. Butterflies tend to Standards: create a chrysalis while moths tend to spin cocoons. Skippers fall Science 5.2L.1, into the middle of these general descriptions. They are diurnal and Science 5.1, have slim antenna like the “true” butterflies but their bodies are SS.05.GE.03.03 often furry like the moths. Most skippers create chrysalises but some create cocoons. These differences are generalizations and there are exceptions within each category. Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Kit Butterfly Bingo – Page 1 Lepidoptera follow a multiple stage lifecycle where the organism completely metamorphoses (the body of the juvenile and the body of the adult look completely different). The female lays eggs on a host plant. The larvae, commonly known as a caterpillars or worms, hatch and eat until they are big enough and mature enough to metamorphose. The larva, then, creates a chrysalis or a cocoon and pupates until the metamorphosis is complete. The adult butterfly or moth will then emerge. This full lifecycle can last just a few weeks or over a year depending on the species. Cascade-Siskiyou NM is in a unique geological area. The geologic convergence of four different eco-regions, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Cascade Mountains, the Klamath Siskiyou Mountains, and the Great Basin Desert, come together, or converge, in this area. Species, such as butterflies, are associated with different geological ecoregions. When the different regions converge many species that are normally not found near each other will be found in the same area. This sort of convergence can be seen on a smaller scale along the border between a forest and a meadow. More species are found along that border than in the forest or in the meadow because the habitats converge there. This convergence creates the incredible diversity of butterflies and other species found at Cascade-Siskiyou NM. Vocabulary: Ecoregion – large areas of land that share similar characteristics like the geology (rocks), species and habitats located there. Biodiversity - all the different animals, plants and other life found in a region as well as the interactions between the species and their habitats. Convergence – an area where different ecoregions overlap. Species – a types of living organisms including animals, plants, fungi and bacteria. Lepidoptera – order of insects that include butterflies, skippers and moths. Butterfly – the flying adult stage of an insect that follows a metamorphic lifecycle. Caterpillar – the larval stage of an insect that follows a metamorphic lifecycle. Similar to a worm with small legs, eats vegetation. Host Plant – the plant that a butterfly lays the eggs on and the caterpillar needs to eat to survive. Chrysalis – housing for the pupa form between the adult and larval stage of most butterflies; formed from the exoskeleton of the caterpillar. Cocoon – housing for the pupa form between the adult and larval stage of most moths; formed from silk and sometimes plant material. Metamorphism – the complete change in body type and function of an organism between the juvenile and adult stages. Introduction: 1. Ask the students what they think of butterflies. Have a short (3 to 5 min.) discussion on what butterflies are and what butterflies mean to the students. 2. Define biodiversity as all the different animals, plants and other life found in a region as well as the different interactions between the species and their habitats. (Example: The biodiversity of the classroom would include all the animals, plants, insects and micro- organisms in that classroom along with all the interactions between the organisms) Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Kit Butterfly Bingo – Page 2 3. Show a map of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument with the ecoregions of the mountain ranges and the desert marked on the map. Explain that ecoregions (represented by the arrows) are large areas that share similar characteristics like the species and habitats there. Ask: where do you think the largest number of different species would be found? (Sample answer: the area where the arrows meet) 4. Explain that because of this convergence at Cascade-Siskiyou NM, it is a “hot spot” for butterflies. There is a larger number of butterfly species, or larger than average diversity, living at the monument. The average number of butterfly species in a wilderness area is less than 100. At Cascade-Siskiyou NM there are more than 120 species of butterflies. 5. Tell the students that they are going to explore some of that butterfly diversity while playing a game of bingo. Activity: 1. Provide each student with a butterfly bingo card and tokens for covering the squares. 2. If needed explain the rules to bingo. Explain that a BINGO is a complete row up, down or diagonal. Mix up the butterfly cards. 3. Pick a butterfly card (or have a student pick). 4. Read the information on the card and show the picture. 5. Students that have that butterfly on their cards cover the butterfly with one of the tokens. 6. Repeat steps 3 – 5 until someone calls out “BINGO”. 7. To check if the student successfully got bingo, have the student name the covered butterflies and one fact about them. Other students may raise hands and be called on to help answer. 8. Start over and play another round. Continue as long as desired. 9. While playing discuss different aspects of the butterflies. Assessment: Assessment is provided when the students are able to name butterflies after achieving BINGO. Further discussion questions (and possible answers): Why are there so many different types of butterflies at Cascade Siskiyou NM? What are some of the reasons for the rich diversity? Within these geographically converging ecoregions a greater amount of biodiversity is found since habitats for many species overlap, thus butterflies with different requirements and habitats will be found living relatively close to each other. Most butterflies rely on one or a small number of different host plants. In the Cascade-Siskiyou NM there is a very large diversity of plant life thus there is a larger variety of host plants available for the butterflies. Why is this rich diversity important? Having an increased number of species often allows an area to be more resilient to disturbances, since more than one species may play the same role in that particular area. What are some ideas that we can do to help assure the continued diverse richness? Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Kit Butterfly Bingo – Page 3 Let our family, friends and neighbors know about the special butterflies living among us. Plant host plants and nectar plants for the butterflies in parks and gardens. Pull non-native plant species that keep the native host species from growing. Protect land for the butterflies and the plants they need to survive. Variations and extensions: For younger ages read the name and show the picture for the students to match. For older grades read information first, then name, then picture and see how quickly the students can correctly identify the right butterfly. Have students raise a hand and guess with the right butterfly. Each student can choose a butterfly from the game and write about it. Writing can be a short report, a story or a poem. Writing should demonstrate the interconnectedness with a diversity of other organisms. Hand out copies of the outline drawings of some butterflies (outline drawings provided) for the students to color. For an extra challenge, make copies of the outline drawings without the species names and have the students identify the butterflies using the cards. Have students research one of the butterflies, then write and or draw a life cycle of the butterfly, including the correct host species for the caterpillar and nectar plants for the adult butterfly. Have the students

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