Butterflies, along with their close relatives the moths, are insects. Together, they are the most numerous type of insect. The butterfly belongs to the order of insects called lepidoptera. Insects that are in the lepidoptera order have four wings and these wings are covered with scales. To learn more about the butterfly's anatomy click below.

                        Butterfly Anatomy
 

    All insects go through changes as they grow and get older. Metamorphosis is the word that describes the changes that insects go through. Butterflies go through big changes to get to the final stage of being a butterfly. To see the changes and to learn more about the different stages, click below.

                     Butterfly's Metamorphosis
 

    Butterflies usually fly during the daytime. Most of us have all seen a butterfly at one time or another. If you have seen many butterflies, you have probably noticed that they all have bright colorful wing. However, all butterflies are not the same. There are many different kinds of butterflies. In the lepidoptera order, scientists believe that there are between 100,000 and 200,000 different kinds of butterflies and moths. In this Web Quest, we have looked at three different butterflies.

            1. The monarch butterfly

            2. The peacock butterfly

            3. The five bar sword tail butterfly
 

    There are still many more types of butterflies that you can study. Here are some references that you can use to find some information about other butterflies:

            ~ Moths and Butterflies and How They Live  by Robert M. McClung
            ~ The Great Butterfly Hunt by Ethan Herberman
            ~ Butterflies and Moths by Denny Robson
            ~ Entomology  by Ellen Doris
            ~ Crinklerton's Guide to Knowing Butterflies and Moths  by Jim Arnosky
            ~ Butterflies of Ireland  http://indigo.ie/~qmaster/the_hut/butterf.htm
            ~ Public Butterfly Garden and Zoo http://butterflywebsite.com/gardens/index.htm
              ~ Children's Butterfly Site http://webmesc.mesc.nbs.gov/butterfly/Butterfly.html
 
 

Teacher Resources:
    ~ Teacher Template
    ~ Included with the Web Quest are four student worksheets (think sheets) to help the
        students go through the Web Quest
            1. A think sheet for the life cycle of the butterfly
            2. A think sheet for the butterfly anatomy
            3. A think sheet for critical thinking questions (compare and contrast and questions
                about extinction)
            4. A think sheet for gathering information on their specific butterfly
    ~ Butterfly test to assess how well the students have mastered the objectives
    ~ Student Template