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Project Summary

Difficulty	5
Time required	Very Long (several weeks to months)
Prerequisites	None
Material Availability	Specialty items
Cost	Low ($20 - $50)
Safety	No issues

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Objective

The goal of this project is to determine the effect of temperature on butterfly metamorphosis.

Introduction

All insects start out life as eggs (although some hatch within the body of the mother, and the young are born alive). As young insects grow and develop, their bodies change in a process called metamorphosis. In a few species, for example silverfish, only size changes. In other species, there is a simple change—development of wings in grasshoppers, for example. In the case of simple metamorphosis, the juvenile stages are called nymphs. In other insect species, there is a complete metamorphosis from a grub- or caterpillar-like larva to the adult body form (beetles and butterflies, for example). (Borror and White, 1970; Illinois DNR, 2003)

Nymphs and larvae pass through multiple stages of growth, called instars. Because insects must shed their exoskeleton in order to grow, each growth stage is separated by a molt (also called ecdysis). In complete metamorphosis, the last stage before adulthood is the pupa. Pupae are usually inactive, and do not feed. The pupa may have a protective coating, either a cocoon or chrysalis made by the larva, or a puparium, which is made of exoskeletal material (Borror and White, 1970).

Butterflies are an example of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis. One species of butterfly that is convenient to use for a science fair project is the painted lady. The caterpillars are cultured, and are available year-round. The adult butterflies are common in North America, and are unlikely to harm local ecosystems if released (Darmo, date unknown). The larval and adult stages are shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1. Larva of a painted lady butterfly.

Figure 2. Adult painted lady butterfly.

An adult female painted lady butterfly lays about 500 blue-green eggs, on plants that the larvae will eat when they hatch. The eggs hatch in about 3–5 days. The larvae eat constantly, and pass through six instar stages (five molts) over about 12–18 days before pupating. The adults typically emerge in about ten days (Darmo, date unknown).

How does temperature affect the metamorphosis of painted lady pupae? How long will metamorphosis take if pupae are kept at cooler temperatures? How long will metamorphosis take if pupae are kept at warmer temperatures?

Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research

To do this project, you should do research that enables you to understand the following terms and concepts:

• larva,
• instar,
• exoskeleton,
• molt,
• pupa,
• chrysalis,
• metamorphosis,
• adult.

Questions

• What is the typical lifespan of a painted lady caterpillar?
• How long does the pupal (chrysalid) stage typically last for painted lady butterflies?

Bibliography

• Borror, D.J. and R.E. White, 1970. Peterson Field Guides: Insects: A Field Guide to Insects, America North of Mexico. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Darmo, L., date unknown. "The Painted Lady Butterfly in the Classroom: Frequently Asked Questions," Departments of Living Zoology/Genetics, Carolina Biological Supply Company, [accessed August 25, 2006] reproduced online at http://kindergartenclass.netfirms.com/paintedlady.htm.
• Illinois DNR, 2003. "Insect Development," Illinois Department of Natural Resources [accessed August 25, 2006] http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/CLASSRM/wingleg/DEVELOPM.HTM.

Materials and Equipment

To do this experiment you will need the following materials and equipment:

• 20–30 painted lady caterpillars:
  • available from Carolina Biological Supply Company and other online suppliers,
  • plan ahead, it will take 2–3 weeks for the caterpillars to grow and pupate and then at least 10 more days for the butterly to emerge from the chrysalis.
• food for caterpillars:
  • available from the suppliers,
  • can also be fed plant material (mallow, thistle are preferred in the wild);
• container for housing caterpillars,
• two hatching containers for housing chrysalisides:
  • open-top cardboard box (for light), with air holes punched in sides, and the top covered by plastic mesh or screen material,
  • make an access flap at the bottom of one side for feeding the adults fresh sugar water (see Experimental Procedure section for details),
  • lean a perching twig or stick against the side of the box;
• for feeding adult butterflies you will need:
  • sponge,
  • sugar or honey,
  • water,
  • lid from a jar or plastic food container;
• thermometer,
• 1 warm environment (e.g., indoors, approx. 20°C),
• 1 cool environment:
  • the temperature should definitely be above freezing (0°C);
  • depending on the time of year and your location, this could be an unheated garage, porch, outdoors, or some type of insulated cooler setup,
  • keep the containers away from direct sunlight, which will cause the temperature to rise and then fall as the day proceeds.
  • For an insulated cooler you could try placing the hatching container inside an open ice chest with a bag of ice in the bottom, covered by a layer of corrugated cardboard or some crumpled newspaper. Surrounding the inner box with crumpled newspaper insulation may help as well. In a quick test, our open cooler setup reduced ambient temperature by a little more than 3°C, and the ice lasted for many hours. Check with a thermometer to make sure your setup maintains the inner box at the desired temperature. You'll have to periodically replenish the ice and dump melt water; check it several times per day at the beginning and then as needed once you see how fast the ice melts.

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Experimental Procedure

1. Do your background research and make sure that you understand the terms, concepts, questions, above.
2. Follow the directions that come with your caterpillars for feeding and housing them. Monitor them regularly, making sure they have sufficient food and water and that their surroundings are clean.
3. Record any observations you make in your lab notebook. For example, note the number of caterpillars that have molted (by counting the shed exoskeletons). Do the caterpillars eat the discarded exoskeletons?
4. Be sure to note when the caterpillars start to pupate. Label each chrysalis with a number (attach a small paper label with a dab of white glue).
5. Carefully remove each chrysalis, placing it in one of the two hatching containers (alternate between the warm and cool containers).
6. Make a table in your lab notebook to keep track of the chrysalides by number. Record the date each chrysalis was made and daily observations. For each chrysalis, record the date when the adult butterfly emerges.
7. You should also track the temperature of each hatching container at regular intervals each day.
8. Figure out the pupation time for each chrysalis by counting the number of days from pupation to hatching.
9. Once the adults emerge, they will need liquid food. Here's how to feed them (Darmo, date unknown):
   1. Cut a sponge into small pieces of about 4 cm square.
   2. Saturate the sponge with sugar water solution (one teaspoon sugar or honey in one half cup water).
   3. Place the sponge in a shallow dish (lid from a jar or plastic food container).
   4. Every day, rinse the sponge in fresh water, squeeze out the excess, and resaturate with sugar water (doing this prevents mold from growing on the sponge).
10. Calculate the average and standard deviation of the pupation time for each group of chrysalides.
11. How much of a difference does temperature make?
12. Count the number of pupae that survive to adulthood in each group. What is the survival rate? Is there a difference between the two groups?
13. Do you notice any other differences between the two groups of butterflies?
14. When your experiment is over, you can release the adults if this is legal where you live.
15. If you do not wish to keep the butterflies, nor release them, we recommend the following method to humanely kill them (Darmo, date unknown):
    1. First place the butterflies in a refrigerator for several hours to slow down their metabolism, then place them in a freezer overnight.
    2. Since Painted Lady butterflies are cold-blooded, and are routinely exposed to chilling weather in the spring and fall, this method will not cause distress or pain to the butterflies.

Variations

• Try increasing the number of temperatures tested. Devise a way to warm some of the chrysalides. Perhaps you could use a heat pad on a low setting or a small heat lamp (e.g., for a reptile cage) to warm up a box. Make a graph of pupal time vs. temperature. What is the relationship?
• Extend the experiment to include the larval stage. What effect does temperature have on larval growth, molting, and initiation of pupation? Raise larva at three different temperatures: cooler than room temperature, room temperature, and warmer than room temperature. Try to avoid lethal extremes of temperature. Weigh the larvae at regular intervals and calculate the average growth rate of each group. Make a graph of growth rate vs. temperature. What is the relationship? How many larvae from each group successfully pupate and develop into adults? What is the average size and weight of each adult?
• Do differences in temperature during the pupal stage result in different wing scale patterns? Learn how to mount butterflies (do a web search on "mounting butterflies" and you'll find plenty of resources) so that you can make a careful comparison of your specimens.

• For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Zoology Project Ideas.

Credits

Andrew Olson, Ph.D., Science Buddies

Sources

This project is based on:

• Davidson, Z.A.M, 2003. "The Butterfly's Secret: How Do Temperature and Light Affect the Time It Takes a Chrysalis to Hatch?," California State Science Fair Abstract [accessed August 24, 2006] http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2003/Projects/J1905.pdf.

Last edit date: 2006-08-31 22:00:00

Career Focus

If you like this project, you might want to think about career opportunities in Zoology.

Ever wondered what wild animals do all day, where a certain species lives, or how to make sure a species doesn't go extinct? Zoologists and wildlife biologists tackle all these questions. They study the behaviors and habitats of wild animals, while also working to maintain healthy populations, both in the wild and in captivity. Learn more about this career: Zoologist and Wildlife Biologist.