Teachers Pack

Ideas for activities to accompany the Munching Caterpillars Workshops

Hello! You may be reading this if you are a teacher or group leader of children who have taken part in the Munching Caterpillars Project. Or, you may simply be looking for ideas to introduce the topic of Moths, Butterflies and Caterpillars and all that this entails (life-cycles, adaptation, nature conservation etc) to young people. If so – this pack is for you! We have put together some suggestions for activities that complement the workshops that we run as part of the Munching Caterpillars Project (see our Workshop Pack for more details, along with lots more information on the project at www.munchingcaterpillars.org). However, they also work just as well as standalone activities that can be incorporated in to your own programme. These ideas have been developed for children at Key Stage 2 (7-11 year olds) but they can easily be adapted to suit different age groups. We hope that you find this pack useful, and would love to hear any feedback or suggestions you may have to help us improve it. Please contact us via the Munching Caterpillars website. Best wishes, Megan Lowe, Kate Merry & Catherine Mason Munching Caterpillars Project Officers

Contents Megapillar – a creative activity that encourages children to combine their knowledge of adaptation with their imagination to make their own species. How important are butterflies and moths? – a visual way of exploring the role that these insects play in the ecosystem, showing children just how important they are. Mapping - explore your school grounds and map the butterfly, moth and caterpillar friendly plants. How moth and butterfly friendly is your school? Rearing caterpillars – some help and guidance for rearing caterpillars in the classroom. Word search – two word searches on butterfly and moth species and food and nectar plants. Butterfly/moth Fact File – use our template to help children create their own Fact File on their favourite butterfly or moth species. Identification and monitoring – why not take part in Butterfly Conservation’s Garden Butterfly Count? Make use of our simple ID and recording sheets.

Megapillar This simple activity encourages children to get creative and design their own species of moth/butterfly caterpillar. As demonstrated by our workshop involving live specimens, caterpillars come in a huge range of colours, patterns and textures. They each have their own strategy for avoiding being eaten by predators; be that camouflage or by confusing or even scaring them away. To remind the children of the huge diversity of caterpillars, use our ID guides at www.munchingcaterpillars.org/resources/ or do a web based image search. The children must now design their own caterpillar, thinking about how their caterpillar will avoid being eaten and then selecting the appropriate materials they will need to create it. For example, their caterpillar may be covered in leaves to make it camouflaged, or they may choose bright warning colours to show predators that it is poisonous. What you will need

Our caterpillar template, photocopied on to paper or card (see next page – simply copy and paste image in to a new document to enlarge or shrink it)

Glue

Colouring pencils, pens, crayons, paints

Scraps of textiles such as old socks, wool, felt

Scraps of paper such as old magazines, newspaper, wrapping paper

Natural materials such as twigs, leaves, straw, bark Follow up You could go a step further by asking the children to come up with a name for their species, based on where it lives or what it looks like (use our ID guides for inspiration!). Also ask them to think about the kind of habitat the caterpillar lives in and what it likes to eat. Megapillars make a great basis for a classroom wall display!

How important are butterflies, moths & caterpillars? This exercise will build on what the children learn in their first Munching Caterpillars workshop. It explores the many benefits that butterflies, moths and caterpillars bring to the ecosystem (including people). Begin by asking the children “why are butterflies, moths and caterpillars important?” Answers can be recorded on a flipchart or white board. Once the main points are listed, the children can be split into groups and asked to research the points in detail. They can then either feed back their findings to the class in the form of a mini presentation, or they can all contribute towards a large wall display using facts and images to illustrate their research. Examples and ideas are provided below:

Why are they important Ideas for research

“They are beautiful, and seeing them in our gardens makes us feel happy.”

Find pictures of people enjoying butterflies and moths. Ask five people why they like butterflies and record what they say.

“They are good at pollinating.” How do butterflies and moths pollinate flowers? Why is that good for us? Find pictures of moths or butterflies pollinating. Make a diagram of a flower showing where the nectar and pollen are.

“Other animals need them for food.” What are the main predators of moths, butterflies and caterpillars? How do these animals hunt them? What facts and figures can show how important they are as food for other animals?

“They inspire people to create art and music.”

Collect images of butterflies and moths in art (even body art!). How many pieces of music can you find that have been inspired by butterflies moths and even caterpillars? What about characters in famous books?

Mapping food and nectar plants –how good are your school grounds for moths and butterflies? This activity provides another opportunity to get outside the classroom and encourage the children to look more closely at their surroundings. The activity involves walking the school grounds to assess how good they are for butterflies and moths. The children can visit each area of the school grounds in turn, looking for caterpillar food plants and good nectar plants. They can annotate what they find on a simple aerial map of the school as they go, marking on the trees and hedgerows, plants and flowers. Once back in the classroom, they can complete a table to help them assess which areas of their school grounds provides the best habitat for butterflies and moths. We have provided a list of the most common and easily identifiable plants that are good for butterflies, moths and caterpillars. What you will need

A list of the most common and easily identifiable food and nectar plants (provided overleaf)

Create a simple table for entering information and assessing the results

A simple plant identification guide if you are not confident. You can also print off and use the ‘Butterfly Fuel’ and ‘Caterpillar Munch’ menus on our website at www.munchingcaterpillars.org/resources/

A map giving an aerial view of the school grounds. (If there is no existing map, it is fairly easy to make an improvised map using Google Maps. Zoom in to an appropriate scale using the satellite image setting and print out. You can then trace the main buildings and outside areas and label them.)

Clipboards and pencils

Caterpillar food plants Native Broadleaved Trees Oak Ash Willow Alder Hazel Fruit Trees Apple Pear Cherry Hedgerows Blackthorn Buckthorn Hawthorn Plants Nettles Thistles Docks Sorrel Nasturtiums Fuchsias Rosebay Willowherb Garlic Mustard Common Birds-foot-trefoil Honeysuckle Comfrey Wild Grasses Various wild grasses left to grow long Vegetables & Herbs Cabbages Mint

Butterfly & moth nectar plants Wallflower Verbena Sedum Forget-me-not Daisies Primrose Buddleia Thyme Catmint Marjoram Lavender Honeysuckle Violets Scabious Buttercup Marigolds Clover Dandelion Brambles Aster Bluebell Pansy

Rearing Your Own Caterpillars

Rearing caterpillars in the classroom can be a fun and interactive activity for all involved. Children get to follow the lifecycle of butterflies and moths as well as learning about food chains and how to care for living creatures.

Getting Started

What you need:

A small tank, rearing cage, or old ice cream tub – no holes required but if there are holes make sure they are small enough to stop the caterpillars escaping.

Kitchen roll – to line the bottom of the tank and make it easy to clean.

Water spray (optional)

Caterpillars!

How to find caterpillars:

Go on a caterpillar hunt – search the school grounds for caterpillars or eggs to collect and rear. The best places to look are under leaves with fresh bite marks, in amongst nettles, around vegetable patches, or in hedges. Beware of hairy caterpillars – some hairy caterpillars can cause a nasty rash if you touch them. Although most will cause no harm at all, it’s best to steer clear of these for the classroom.

What to do once you have found your caterpillars:

Make sure you know what your caterpillar is eating. They can be fussy critters! The plant you find your caterpillar on is likely to be the plant it likes to eat. If there is lots of this plant in your school grounds then this is a good caterpillar to keep as you will be able to provide enough food for its lifespan. If there is not much of this plant around or you are unsure what the caterpillar will eat then it is probably best to leave the caterpillar where it is and continue your search for an easier one.

Identify your caterpillars – do an internet search or look in books to try and identify your caterpillars. You can also send us a picture of your caterpillars on the ‘Ask an Expert’ section of our website so we can try and identify it for you.

How to look after your caterpillars

Caterpillars need fresh food everyday

Clean them out regularly – old leaves and caterpillar poo can go moldy and this can cause your caterpillar to get sick

Water – caterpillars get most of their water from leaves but they do like rain every now and then. Drip or spray a small amount of water in to their tank every few days

Holidays and Weekends – children can take it in turns to take the caterpillars home

Once the caterpillar has pupated and emerged as a butterfly or moth you can release it in to your school grounds so it can find a mate and begin the cycle all over again

How long will it take?! The length of a butterfly or moths lifecycle depends on species and time of year. Some species go from being an egg to a full grown adult in just 4 weeks, but some can take over a year! This is something to keep in mind when you are raising caterpillars with a class – if you have the space it would be great to have a few different species of caterpillar so the children can see (and record) the differences between them. Can’t find any caterpillars?! There are an increasing number of companies online that sell butterfly rearing kits complete with live caterpillars. These are great if you are tight for time, but do take much of the fun and personal connection away from finding your own. It’s also good to do some research before buying to ensure that the caterpillars are bred in the UK and come from a sustainable source i.e. not taken from the wild.

Word search – food and nectar plants

There are 15 butterfly and moth food and nectar plants hidden in this word search. Can you find them all? Words run diagonally as well as back to front!

L V X Z B K D S N E C Z Y A C M Z L K Y

V M T U R Z N V U A M G Z A U A X A X D

T H I S T L E L Y R S Y H E O H N Q G A

H O N E Y S U C K L E T H H R E D J J I

W O L L I W F F Z E D D U T B N C B G S

F V A Y P M R J G X N S N R A A N E S I

N M S G O S F J R N B S E E T G Z U E E

A I E L D D U B Q O U V J M V I E F L S

G F U V Z I R R D C C Y I K K A U Z T N

L P F Y A M U Q A J K N O F S I L M T W

C U B C N S Z O O I T J A N Q M Z U E S

Y T Q D D U P W H V H K E M A K S J N U

Y X Q U Q K Z E A R O X N R V V W I L G

E C H I B C L S D X R K J C N V U E H L

B W R A L O U X P C N O T Q A B D R A Q

I O D C B D R K V L R T N P Z B V N D A

A C E Y S E S C Y A T R N Z X M B M J H

C M W N M L Z D M U F Q P M E X R A C H

F Y N F X U S W P F G Z F L L G G G G P

I X A L K W R C X F A V L P K O X K L E

Words to find:

BUCKTHORN BUDDLEIA CABBAGE CATMINT DAISIES DOCK HONEYSUCKLE LAVENDER MARJORAM NASTURTIUM NETTLES THISTLE THYME VERBENA WILLOW

Word search – butterfly and moth species There are 15 butterfly and moth species hidden in this word search. Can you find them all? Words run diagonally as well as back to front!

E L E P H A N T H A W K M O T H G P C P

J R P M A Y E D W P V I W F Q J A R I U

K K B U I I D L P J E P I F M E R J S D

X G I U S V N I F Q R Y U G C F D V X Y

Q T T Q Z S T T W H Y M B X R S E T Y G

Y G V O D E M P E K H Y M I F Z N T N T

M F T Q G F Y O Z D C Z N T N N T Q Z E

C I N N A B A R T J L G R M Y H I Q L N

V O A K V V P K P H L A E J K H G K S O

E R I L F Y E D B E R T D G G D E F A T

O T Z N R H A O T A S O A Y R C R N L S

P I I H P M C V K Y R T N I E L L U M M

X I O H M H O M S R E C G H K L S I C I

D O T L W F C Z A K L A R I M D A D E R

J R A F U E K T E A A W W Y J F Z J V B

R B W G F X G E Z K M Z X O C C Q V H Q

S Q E N Q U P R G J M F C N W Y L C I B

R Y N S J E B B A W O U C O Q W Y X Z V

L M K K R M G N A L C W V B Z P U V Y A

C N I Q Y C N P S X T F I W O U R X O T

Words to find: BRIMSTONE BUFF TIP CINNABAR COMMA ELEPHANT HAWK MOTH GARDEN TIGER GATEKEEPER LARGE WHITE MULLEIN ORANGETIP PAINTEDLADY PEACOCK PUSSMOTH REDADMIRAL RINGLET

Picture of your chosen butterfly or moth

Species: ……………………………………………………………………..

Habitat: ……………………………………………………………………..

Picture of caterpillar

I used to look like this!

What time of year can you see me: ………………………………………………………….

Other Interesting facts:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………….................................

What did I eat as a caterpillar: …………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………….

Butterfly/Moth Fact File

What do I eat: ……………………………………………………………

Who are my predators: ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Who were my predators: ………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………….....

Identifying and Monitoring Similar to the mapping activity listed above, this exercise encourages the children to record their sightings and explore more of the school grounds. It builds on what they have learnt in the first Munching Caterpillars workshop and is a great activity to do in between the two workshops and throughout early spring to early autumn. It is a very simple activity that involves recording what butterflies and moths you find in your school grounds. This can be done in a number of ways either as a regular class activity following a set route through the school gardens or simply as and when the children spot something i.e. at breaktimes. Use our ID guides and posters provided in the first workshop to help you identify common butterflies and record them on the template provided overleaf. By using the template and sending us your records at the end of term you are also helping us to save the butterflies! Recording what you find will help us identify how well butterflies are doing across the UK, what habitats they like, and what areas could do with a little more help. Make a display in your classroom with a list of the butterflies and moths that the children find. You could even have a competition between classes to see who spots the most! Big Butterfly Count The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide citizen science project run by Butterfly Conservation. It takes place during the summer holidays and encourages people of all ages to record and submit what butterflies they see in a 15 minute period at a location of their choice. All details can be found on the Big Butterfly Count website: http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/