Insecta:

Butterflies,Moths,andDragonflies!

Picture by flickr user: “Just Me....”

“DON’T TOUCH THAT BUTTERFLY, IF YOU DO IT WILL DIE!” Through my research, I have come to find that, that myth is not necissarily true. If you touch the butterfly and all the

white ‘powder’ on its wings comes off, then it will not be able to fly anymore and therefore; it will die. But, if you touch it quickly, and the powder does not come off, it will not die because, it will still be able to fly.

B a s i c I n f o r m a t i o n

Allbutterfliesandalmostallmothshavetwopairsofwings.Onpairarethelargefrontwingsandtheotherisapairofsmallerhindwings.MothsandbutterflieswhencombinedtogetherformtheinsectgroupLepidoptera.ThenameLepidopteraoriginatesfromtwoGreekwords:Lepis,meaningscale;andPteron,meaningwing.Thenamereferstothefine,powderyscalesthatcoverthewingsofbutterfliesandmoths.Mostinsectshavethreepartstotheirbody.(1)Thehead,(2)thethorax,and(3)theabdomen.

I n t e r n a l S y s t e m s

‘ R e s p i r a t o r y S y s t e m ’

Insectshavemanyinternalsystems.Therespiratorysystemisoneofthemostimportant.Thebutterflies,mothsanddragonfliesareall‘wired’thesame.Theyallhavethesamerespiratorysystem.Theyhaveorgansforbreathingthatarelocatedintheirabdomen.Thatisalsowheretheyhavetheabilitytotakeinoxygen.Insectsbreathethroughamuchsimplerpassiverespirationprocess.

E x t e r n a l T r a n s p o r t

‘ G e t t i n g a r o u n d ’

Externaltransportishowananimalmovesfromoneplacetoanother.Thebutterfly,themoth,andthedragonflyallusethesamemeansof‘transportation’.Theyallusetheirwingstoflytodifferentplaces.Theyallhavea‘frontwing’anda‘backwing’whichhelptomakeiteasyforthemtogetaround.Theyalsousetheirlittlelegstowalkonhardsurfaces.

N u t r i t i o n

‘ M m m . . F o o d ! ’

Thebutterfly,themoth,andthedragonflyhaveadigestivesystemthatisdesignedtohandlea‘liquiddiet’.Theyhaveanorgancalledthe‘pharynx’thatisatthebaseofits‘proboscis.’(nose)Itexpandstocreatea‘vacuum’andthatallowstheliquidtobesuckedupthelengthoftheproboscis.Afterthefoodissuckedup,itispushedthroughthe‘thorax’andthenintotheabdomenbycontractingmusclesthatlineitsdigestivetrack.Afterthat,thefoodisstoredinanorgancalledthe‘crop’untilthebodyneedsitsnutrients.Whenitisneeded,thefoodwillthentraveltothemid‐gutwherethenutrientsareabsorbedanddigestedbythebloodorstoredasfat.Then,whenitisdoneinthemid‐gut,ittravelstothehind‐gutwherethewaterisabsorbedintotherectum.Theymostlyeat,smallerbugs,andsucknutrientsoutofflowers,andfruits.

R e p r o d u c t i o n

‘ T h e M a t i n g P r o c e s s ’

Butterfliesandmothshavethesamekindofmatingsystem.Theydon’treproduceuntilthereareadults,obviously.Themaleattacheshimself(usinghis‘claspers’)tothefemalebylinkingtheir‘abdomens’together.Themale’sreproductionorgansarelocatedinsideofhisabdomen.Thematingoccursinthefemales‘pouch’thatislocatedinherabdomen.Thisfertilizestheeggs.Dragonflies,ontheotherhandreproduceasexually.Asexualreproductionisareproductionthatdoesnotinvolvemeiosis.R e s p o n s e t o S t i m u l i

‘ M o v e ! ’

Site:theyallhavecompoundeyesasadults.Touch:Thewaythatthebutterfly,moth,anddragonflyrespondtostimuliis,usingtheirsetae(sensoryhairs)includingtheantennaetofeeltheenvironmentaroundthem.Thosehairsalsohelptogivetheinsectsignsaboutthewindwhileitisflying.SmellandTaste:theyusetheirantennae,palps,legs,andmanyotherpartsoftheirbodiesthatarestuddedwithsensereceptorsthattheyusetosmell.Theyusetheirsenseofsmelltofindfoodwhichisusuallyflowernectar,andalsotofindmates.

Hearing:Theyusetheirwingsto‘hear’things.Balance:theyusetheJohnston’sorganthatislocatedatthebaseoftheirantennae.TheJohnston’sisresponsibleformaintainitssenseofbalanceduringflight.A d a p t a t i o n

‘ W h a t C h a n g e s ? ’

Thebutterfly,themoth,andthedragonflyhaveallchangedovertheyears.ThemainadaptationIcouldfindwas,forthebutterfly.Thereisatypeofbutterflycalledthe‘Viceroy’that‘pretends’tobethemonarchbutterflyinordertosaveitselffrompredators.They‘know’thatthemonarchbutterflytastesbadtootheranimalssotheypretendtobeonetokeepfrombeingeaten.Themoths,theyadaptbyblendinginwiththeirsurroundingstokeepfromgetting‘caught’bypredators.Theyblendintotrees,andotherenvironments.Dragonflies,thewaytheyadaptis,theycantiptheirwingsinordertoregulatetheirbodytemperature.Theyarebulletshapedwhich,helpsthemflyfast.Theyareabletoflyforwardsandbackwardsandcanchangedirectionquickly.Theycanflyupto30mph.F o o d C h a i n

‘ W h e r e a r e y o u a t ? ’

Thebutterflies,moths,anddragonflies,areatthebottomofthefoodchain.Theyareprettymuchthesameasanyinsects.Therearesomanyanimalsthatarelargerthanthemandthatwouldeatthemupin‘onebite.’Ifyoucomparethemonarchbutterflytosay,agreatwhiteshark,there’sprettymuchnocomparison.Thesharkandthingslikeitaresomuchhigherupinthefoodchainthantinylittleinsects.G e n e r a l B o d y S t r u c t u r e

‘ W h a t p a r t s a r e w h a t ? ’

Thebutterflyandthemothshareprettymuchthesamestructure.

http://www.rivernen.ca/bf_parts.gifTheDragonfly:

http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on‐line/naturallyscottish/dragonfly/images/4.%20Diagram%20Dragonfly%20BodyParts%20%28c%29BDS‐J.Stevens.jpg

B a c k g r o u n d I n f o r m a t i o n

‘ C l a s s i f i c a t i o n ’

Thegroup,‘Insecta’(insects)isaclassofthelargeanimalphylum‘Arthropoda’whichreferstothejointedlimbsthatit’smembershas.Becauseinsectshavedifferent‘sections’totheirbodies,theyareconsideredtobe‘Arthropoda.’O t h e r O r g a n i s m s

‘ B r o t h e r s a n d S i s t e r s ’

Therearemanyothertypesofbugsthatareconsideredtobepartofinsecta.Therearebeetles,andflies,andbees,andcrickets,andgrasshoppers,andlocusts,andabunchofotherbugs.

T y p e o f S y m m e t r y

‘ A r e w e s y m m e t r i c a l ?

Butterflies,Moths,andDragonfliesallhavebilateralsymmetry.E x t i n c t o r E n d a n g e r e d I n s e c t s

‘ A r e w e d y i n g o f f ?

Someinsectsthatareendangeredare:TheAntiochKatydid,BayCheckerspotButterfly ElSegundoBlueButterfly OregonSilverspotButterfly Lange'sMetalmarkButterfly MissionBlueButterfly PalosVerdesBlueButterfly KernPrimroseSphinxMoth DelhiSandsFlower‐lovingFly Smith'sBlueButterfly LotisBlueButterfly Myrtle'sSilverspotButterfly SanBrunoElfinButterfly CallippeSilverspotButterfly QuinoCheckerspotButterfly Behren'sSilverspotButterflyI m p o r t a n c e

‘ W h y d o t h e y m a t t e r ? ’

Butterflies,moths,anddragonfliesareimportanttothehumanracebecause,theycanhelppollinatelikebeesandbirdsmakingmoreflowersandplants.

Byflickruser:Histrel

Byflickruser:Jim‐AR

Byflickruser:Vicki’sNature

Sources:Butterfly’s internal systems:

http://www.naturemuseum.org/online/thebutterflylab/anatomy/internalorgans.html Moth’srespiratorysystem:

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/worldbook/cybercamp/html/walkmoth.htmlhttp://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/allabout/Senses.shtml‘Butterflyparts’picture:http://www.rivernen.ca/bf_parts.gifhttp://www.answers.com/