The Discovery Series Butterflies

Education Department
Natural History Museum

of Jamaica (NHMJ)
Institute of Jamaica (IOJ)
10-16 East Street, Kingston

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Discovery Room Interactive Learning Sessions

The Natural History Museum of Jamaica is the science arm of the Institute of Jamaica that is
responsible for scientific research and education by collecting, storing and maintaining
specimens of Jamaica’s plants and animals in addition to educating Jamaicans on the importance
of preserving the island’s biodiversity. To fulfil this mandate, the Discovery Room was created
for children to encourage scientific discovery through the use of interactive and stimulating
activities. .
Butterflies are generally seen as very colourful and beautiful insects, but beyond their beauty
they are valuable insects. They help with pollination in plants; serve as an indicator for climate
change as they are vulnerable to changes in the environment as well as life cycle has a very
significant educational role. The learning sessions within the Discovery Room will be available
to students of early childhood (3 years olds) to middle childhood (12 years olds) stages of
development. These students are not required to have any previous knowledge on any of the
topics to be taught. The interactive sessions will accommodate up to 30 (maximum) students
supervised by their teachers and facilitators of the Discovery Room. All lessons will be taught in
a developmentally appropriate manner.

Moore’s Primary School, Clarendon viewing insects from the NHMJ Zoology Collection
within the Discovery Room

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Lesson Plan: Butterfly Mania

Teaching objectives:

From the lesson prepared, students will learn the following:
● Develop identification skills
● Develop awareness on Jamaica’s natural history
● Become knowledgeable of the butterfly life cycle
● Identify and recall the different stages of the life cycle
● Learn butterfly body parts and their functions
● Develop fine motor skills

Early Childhood Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
● Identify different shapes
● Identify different colours and numbers
● Recognise and draw the shape of a butterfly
● Improve their writing ability

Middle Childhood Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson students will be able to:
● Identify different types of butterflies
● Identify and describe a moth vs a butterfly
● Understand, explain and describe the different stages of the butterfly cycle
● design their own lifecycle
● Explain the important role butterflies play in our environment

Methodology
● Assessments using pre-tests/ posts-tests and student-teacher evaluations
● Multimedia presentations on butterflies and their life cycle to students
● Engage students with creative butterfly activities (colouring, games, songs, puzzles, role-
play, dramatic play)

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Method
● At the beginning of the series/ first lesson, students will be asked to participate in a pre-
test to aid in gaining insight on previous knowledge on the prepared lesson.
● PowerPoint presentation on butterflies, their life cycle, body parts, food eaten and
examples of butterflies that are common in Jamaica
● Showing videos on the butterfly life cycle
● Displaying and engaging students with the requisite museum specimens
● Each student will participate in butterfly activities using craft items to create an art piece
● Students will be given a post-test to assess what they have learnt at the end of the series/
lesson

Expected Results/ Outputs
● Students being able to identify the various stages of the life cycle in its natural
environment
● Students being able to tell the difference between a butterfly and moth in their ecosystem
● Students’ development of identification skills where they are able to say what type of
butterfly they have seen in their surroundings
● Students sharing the knowledge they have gained from the lesson with their peers
● Students being more environmentally aware and partake in best environmental practices

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Content Outline

The butterfly mania series will be broken into 4 teaching lessons with a time frame of 25 minutes
for each. For each activity, the materials will be provided to each student. NO MATERIALS are
required to be carried by students.

Series 1: Introduction to Butterflies and their Anatomy

Definition

Butterflies are brightly coloured flying insects with two (2) pairs of large wings belonging to the
order or group called Lepidoptera, which means ‘scaly wings’. Their wings are covered with
rows of thousands of tiny scales that overlap each other. This gives butterflies their colour and
each species has a unique colourful design of their scales.

Parts of the Butterfly

Like all other insects, butterflies have an exoskeleton, six legs and three main body parts. These
are the:

1. Head: Consisting of:
● Two (2) antennae- used to` detect odours and tastes, wind speed and direction,
heat, moisture, and touch
● Compound eyes- these are large and are used to sense light and objects
● Proboscis- this is tube-like and flexible like a tongue and is used to drink or feed
on nectar from flowers and fluid from rotting fruits. The proboscis curls up when
the butterfly is not feeding

2. Thorax (chest or mid section):
● Six (6) jointed legs- help the butterfly to taste and smell
● Two pairs of wings- allow the butterfly to fly and consist of a forewing and hind
wing

The muscles responsible for wing and leg movements are found in the thorax.

3. Abdomen (tail end): Holds the reproductive organs of the butterfly.

Activities

1. Colouring
• Colour the image of the butterfly using your favourite colours
• Create a name for the butterfly coloured
• State a unique characteristic of your butterfly

Materials: colouring sheets, crayons

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2. Butterfly Colour and Number
Students will be placed in groups of five (5) where each student will trace/draw a
butterfly scaled to the size of 8.5” x 11”. After which, they will the marker to add dots/
circles/ stripes (ranging from 1-5) to one of the butterfly wings. After this is done, they
then write the number of these on the other wing. These will then be taped on the floor in
a circular fashion. Two children will then walk on the butterflies as we sing a selected
song. Once the song stops, they stop walking and state the colour of the butterfly and
number of dots/ circles/ stripes that are on it (as a variation of musical chairs). This
activity is to help with the identification of colours and numbers and fine motor
skills.

Materials: coloured construction paper, tape, markers

3. Creation of a song (to aid in remembrance)
Use the terms learnt today to create a song about the butterfly.

Series 2: The Life Cycle and Food

Life cycles consist of all the stages from beginning to end that a living organism goes through
throughout their lifetime. A butterfly goes through complete metamorphosis that consists of four
(4) stages:

1. Egg: Butterfly lives start as a small egg which can be round, cylindrical or oval that can
be found on the leaves or stems of plants. However, the shape of the egg depends on the
type of butterfly that lays the egg. The colour of the egg varies in colours such as white,
yellow and green. For some eggs, one can see the caterpillar growing on the inside such
as the monarch butterfly. Most importantly, the plants on which the eggs are laid are
important as the plant will serve as a food source for the larvae (caterpillar) when it
hatches from the egg as different caterpillars like only certain leaves.

2. Larva: When the eggs hatch, caterpillar (larva) emerges, which starts to feed on its
remaining egg shell, after which, it starts eating the leaves of the plant. At this second
stage, the caterpillar mainly feeds so that it can grow. Their tough outer skin or
exoskeleton however, does not expand or stretch as they grow, instead, the caterpillar
experiences moulting. This is a process where the exoskeleton is shed and replaced by a
new larger exoskeleton. This occurs four to five times before becoming a pupa.

3. Pupa (Chrysalis): The pupa stage is one of the coolest stages of a butterfly’s life and is
known as the RESTING PHASE. As soon as a caterpillar is done growing and they
have reached their full length/weight, they form themselves into a pupa, also known as a
chrysalis. The caterpillar attaches itself to a twig/branch downwards and their body splits
open to reveal the chrysalis that hangs like a sac. From the outside of the pupa, it looks as

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if the caterpillar may just be resting, but the inside is where all of the action is. Inside of
the pupa, the caterpillar is rapidly changing.

4. Adult: When the caterpillar has completed metamorphosis in the pupa, a butterfly
emerges. When it emerges, both of their wings are folded and soft as they had to fit all of
their body parts into the pupa. Once the butterfly is out and rested, it sends blood to their
wings, which helps to expand them fully, so that they can fly.

**The life cycle starts over**

Types of Food Eaten throughout the Life Cycle

As a result of the different stages within the life cycle, there are different food choices which are
important for the completion of the life cycle that must be present. The type of food eaten also
depends on the mouthparts which differ in the larval or caterpillar and adult stage (butterfly). As
a caterpillar, it feeds on the leaves of the plant and as such the female butterfly has to be careful
on which plants it lays its eggs. This is so as the caterpillar will spend their complete life on this
plant or even the same leaf. Their main goal is to eat excessively to ensure that they become
large enough in order to pupate. Their mouth parts are known as mandibles which allow the
caterpillar to chew the leaves.

For adults, they feed on plant nectar and a variety of liquid as they can be selective feeders.
Butterflies are able to roam about over a broader territory in search for food in comparison to
caterpillars. They feed from a tube- like tongue called proboscis which is long and flexible. It
uncoils to sip liquid food (flower nectar, liquid from rotting fruits) and coils into a spiral when
it’s not feeding. Generally, butterflies prefer feeding in areas that are sunny and protected from
wind.

Note: within the pupa stage, there is NO feeding as it gets its energy from the food eaten by
the caterpillar in the larval stage.

YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1S8WzwLPlM (To be shown at the
end of the lesson)

Activities

1. Creation of the stages of the life cycle
Students will be placed in groups where different groups will create a stage of the butterfly
life cycle. This activity is to aid in building teamwork and showing its importance apart from
gaining knowledge of the life cycle stages.
Materials: play dough, glue, water, paper, glitter pads, construction paper, scissors

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2. Creation of a song (To aid in remembrance)
Use the terms learnt today to create a song about the butterfly life cycle.

Series 3: Differences between Butterflies and Moths

Butterflies vs Moths

Butterflies and moths are from the same group or order Lepidoptera; however, there are various
differences between both:

 Butterflies are mainly active in the day (diurnal) while moths are active at night
(nocturnal).

 Butterflies’ antennae are tall, thin, and smooth and have a club end. Moths’ antennae
are short, stout and feathery or comb-like.

 Butterflies rest with their wings closed/folded upwards over their bodies. There is an
exception however, when butterflies are basking in the sun. For moths, they rest with
their wings outstretched/ spread out flat against their body.

 Butterflies tend to have more colourful wings than moths’ wings, which are normally
pale/ dull in colour. (Though there are few colourful moths)

 For the pupa, butterflies form a chrysalis that is hard, smooth and has no silk
covering. Moths form a cocoon that is wrapped in a silk covering.

Activities

1. Puzzles
• In groups, put together the jumbo jigsaw butterfly puzzles provided
• Describe the completed jigsaw puzzle

Material: jigsaw puzzle

2. Butterfly vs Moth
Students will be placed in groups of five where each will get a chance to view a butterfly and
moth from the NHMJ Zoology collections. Within these groups, a group member will state
at least one difference they have observed between the two insects. This is to aid in
identifying butterflies vs moths in their natural environment.
Materials: butterfly and moth specimens, magnifying glasses

3. Creation of a song (to aid in remembrance)
Use the terms learnt today to create a song about the butterfly and moths.

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Series 4: Importance of Butterflies
Butterflies and moths are the second most abundant type of insects in the world after beetles.
Apart from being a component of Jamaica’s natural history, butterflies play a vital role in the
environment. These include:

● Scientific value: scientists use butterflies for research purposes such as studying
mimicry (imitation/impersonation) and climate change. Butterfly behaviour and activity
changes with even the slightest of changes within their environment, hence they aid in
providing an ‘early warning’ indicator that something is wrong.

● Food: many animals feed on butterflies such as birds, lizards, bats and other insectivores
(animals that feed on insects). Also, there are birds that plan their breeding season
around when caterpillars are abundant. Overall, butterflies and caterpillars are one of
those creatures that form the base of the food chain.

● Pollinators: when butterflies feed on the nectar from the plants, they pickup pollen
grains on their feet. They are therefore important contributors of plant species
reproduction and crop diversity, facilitating food security through their active role in
cross pollination.

● Beauty: butterflies are known for their beauty which can bring about inner peace,
wonder and inspiration to the world.

Humans play a role in ensuring the preservation of butterflies by protecting the environment.
When humans cut down trees, they may negatively affect the life cycle of butterflies.
Butterflies are only able to continue their life cycle if the particular plant they need is present
for the laying of their eggs. For example, if all Milkweed plants were cut down, then the
Monarch butterfly would not be able to carry on its life cycle, which would further lead to
their extinction. Therefore, it is important for good environmental stewards to protect our
Jamaican endemic butterflies.

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Examples of Butterflies that can be found within Jamaica

Of the 136 species of butterflies found in Jamaica, students will be able to view a representative
portion of these butterflies preserved in our Zoology collections here at the NHMJ.

Giant Swallowtail: Endemic to Jamaica, the largest in the Western Hemisphere and critically
endangered. It can be found within the Blue and John Crow Mountains and Cockpit Country.

Blue Swallowtail: Endemic to Jamaica, small, swift-flying and also known as the Kite
Swallowtails. It is listed as vulnerable.

Golden Swallowtail: Endemic to Jamaica, it is a large golden yellow butterfly with dark brown
markings that may appear to be black in the field. They prefer wet limestone forest areas.

Lime Swallowtail: An introduced species that can be considered as a pest despite being
beautiful, as it is known to destroy citrus plants. The larvae eat the leaves of orange and
ortanique trees.

Lyside Sulphur: A well-known migrant butterfly, they are polymorphic with males and
females having a variety of colour forms. Their larval host plant is the national tree, Lignum
Vitae.

Pearly Malachite: It is one of Jamaica’s most beautiful insects with a large, sooty dark-brown to
black body with pale green markings.

Tailed Orion: They are fast and powerful fliers and mainly fly high in wet forests. Their colours
include orange-brown (upper wings), black with six white spots close to the edges of the upper
wings with the lower wings dark brown. They have the ability to be camouflaged while at rest
due to the dead-leaf pattern underneath the wings.

Jamaican Mestra: Endemic to Jamaica and found at the edges of dry limestone forests, the
upper wings are gray white to light brown with orange around the edges. Also, there is a white
band with orange spots above the white bands while the underside is pale orange with white
bands.

Jamaican Admiral: Endemic to Jamaica, an attractive butterfly normally seen close to wet
forest edges. Their wings are dark brown with orange spots at the end of each wing. Also, there
is a vertical blue band starting from the bottom wings to the top wings in the centre.

Turner’s Gold Striped Skipper: Endemic to Jamaica and was discovered in 2011. They are
dark brown with a vertical yellow band in the lower wings.

Jamaican Leaf Butterfly: Endemic to Jamaica, it is medium sized with red wings and lower
wings with tails. It is shaded gray below and camouflaged to appear as a dead leaf.

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Activities

1. Colouring
Students will be given a picture of one of the butterflies listed above to colour and to state the
correct terms to describe their butterfly (example, endemic)

Materials: colouring sheet, crayons, pencils

2. My Butterfly
Students will use the materials provided to create their own butterflies and state one reason
why their butterflies are important or what role it plays within the environment.

Materials: play dough, fudge sticks, glitter, coloured construction/cartridge paper, glue,
buttons

3. Creation of Dub Poem (to aid in remembrance)

Students will create a dub poem on the importance of butterflies and the role humans play
in ensuring their survival.

Terms learned/ Vocabulary Invasive
Camouflaged Mandible
Caterpillar Metamorphosis
Chrysalis Moulting
Cocoon Nectar
Endemic Pollination
Exoskeleton Proboscis
Insectivore Pupa
Introduced

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Student Pre & Post Test: Butterfly Mania

Circle the correct answer for each question/ statement below. (Time: 5 minutes)

1. Butterflies are very colourful insects.
(a) True
(b) False

2. Butterflies are seen in the...........?
(a) Night
(b) Day

3. A butterfly goes through different stages in
a life cycle.
(a) True
(b) False

4. Identify the correct stages of the butterfly
life cycle:
(a) Pupa, egg, butterfly, larvae
(b) Butterfly, pupa, larvae, egg
(c) Larvae, egg, pupa, butterfly,
(d) Egg, larvae, pupa, butterfly

5. Butterflies feed on
(a) Animals
(b) Plants

6. The antennae, eyes and proboscis are NOT
found on the head of the butterfly.
(a) True
(b) False

7. What part of the butterfly helps with taste?
(a) Wings
(b) Antennae
(c) Feet
(d) Abdomen

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8. What happens to a caterpillar’s body when they eat?
(a) Their body expand
(b) They change into a butterfly
(c) The caterpillar moult where it sheds its skin and is replaced by a new and larger skin
(d) The colour of the body changes

9. A butterfly forms a cocoon that is wrapped in silk.
(a) True
(b) False

10. Butterflies rest with their wings closed while moths rest with theirs outstretched.
(a) True
(b) False

Name:
Date:
Instructor:

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Credits

Contributing author:
Ms. Teona Thomas
Museum Programme Officer
Education Department
Natural History Museum of Jamaica
Institute of Jamaica
Contributing editors:
Mrs. Eartha Cole
Education Outreach Officer
Natural History Museum of Jamaica
Institute of Jamaica
Dr. Delano Lewis
Associate Professor of Biology
Burman University, Canada
Dr. Susan Davis
Senior Research Officer
Jamaica Clearing House Mechanism
Natural History Museum of Jamaica
Institute of Jamaica
Contributing photographer:
Dr. Vaughan Turland- Jamaican Blue Swallowtail Butterfly (can be seen on the cover page)

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Reference List

“All About Butterflies”. Enchanted Learning. 2018.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/allabout/
“All About Butterflies”. University of Kentucky: College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
2019. https://www.uky.edu/hort/butterflies/all-about-butterflies
Drakes, Lauren. 2019. “The Importance of Butterflies- Learn about the Butterfly Effect.” Inside
the Pavilion (blog), April 20, 2019. Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion.
https://www.phillybutterflypavilion.com/butterfly-effect-importance-of-butterflies/
Hadley, Debbie. “The Parts of a Butterfly.” ThoughtCo. August. 29, 2019. thoughtco.com/parts-
of-a-butterfly-1968481
“How can you tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth?” Library of Congress:
Everyday Mysteries. 2017. https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/butterflymoth.html
“Importance of Butterflies in the World!” Entopia. 2016.
http://entopia.com/oneplantatatime/entomology/the-importance-of-butterflies-to-the-world/
“What are the differences between butterflies and moths?” Australian Museum. 2019.
https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/insects/what-are-the-differences-between-
butterflies-and-moths/
“Why Butterflies are Important?” Hartley Botanic. March 2, 2016. https://hartley-
botanic.co.uk/magazine/why-butterflies-are-important/
Why Butterflies Matter. Butterfly Conservation. 2008. https://butterfly-
conservation.org/butterflies/why-butterflies-matter
Turner, Thomas and Turland, Vaughan. Discovering Jamaican Butterflies and their
Relationships around the Caribbean. Caribbean Wildlife Publications, 2017

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