Hi there! Today, we’re going to learn about some amazing butterflies and why they have such beautiful colors. Butterflies are fascinating creatures, and their colors can tell us a lot about them. Let’s dive in!
First, let me introduce you to two special butterflies. The first one is called the lemon emigrant. As you might guess from its name, it’s a bright yellow butterfly that lives in parts of Asia and Australia. The second butterfly is the blue morpho, which many people think is the most colorful butterfly in the world. It lives in Central and South America and has stunning blue wings.
Have you ever wondered why butterflies are so colorful? It might seem strange because their bright colors could make them easy for predators, like birds, to spot. But butterflies have some clever tricks up their wings!
Some butterflies use their colors to blend in with their surroundings. This is called camouflage. For example, a bright orange butterfly might seem easy to see, but in its natural habitat, it can hide among flowers and leaves. A green butterfly can look just like a leaf, making it hard for predators to find.
Not all butterflies use camouflage. Some have bold patterns that can startle or scare predators. For instance, a butterfly might have spots that look like the eyes of an owl or the head of a snake. These patterns can make predators think twice before attacking!
Other butterflies have bright colors to warn predators that they are poisonous. For example, the monarch butterfly is highly poisonous to birds. Its bright colors act like a warning sign. There’s also a butterfly called the viceroy, which looks like the monarch but isn’t poisonous. Predators often can’t tell the difference, so they avoid both!
Now that you know why butterflies are so colorful, you can create your own! My friends and I have made a fun activity where you can design a colorful butterfly card for someone special. You can find the activity at the end of this video.
That’s all for today! Keep exploring and asking questions about the world around you. There are so many mysteries to discover. See you next time!
Butterfly Color Hunt: Go on a nature walk with an adult and look for butterflies or other insects. Observe their colors and patterns. Try to find at least three different types of butterflies or insects. Draw a picture of each one you see and describe how their colors might help them survive in their environment. Do they blend in, scare predators, or warn them away?
Create a Camouflage Experiment: Use colored paper or fabric to create a butterfly that can blend into different backgrounds. Choose a spot in your home or garden and see if you can make your butterfly “disappear” by matching its colors to the surroundings. Take a picture of your camouflaged butterfly and share it with your class. Discuss why camouflage is important for butterflies.
Design a Warning Sign: Imagine you are a butterfly that needs to warn predators to stay away. Use art supplies to design your own butterfly with bright warning colors and patterns. Think about what colors and shapes would make a predator think twice before approaching. Share your design with your classmates and explain why you chose those colors and patterns.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(ringing) – Hi, it’s Doug. I’ve shared information about butterflies with you before, but I want to show you two more today. Their bodies were preserved by scientists who were studying them. This one is called a lemon emigrant, and you might guess from the name “lemon” that it’s bright yellow. It lives in parts of Asia and Australia. But now, let me show you what some people consider to be the most brightly colored butterfly in the world. It’s the blue morpho. It lives in parts of Central and South America.
Someone named Malia has a question about butterflies. Let’s give her a call now. (ringing) – Hi, Doug. – Hi, Malia. – I have a question for you. Why are butterflies so colorful? – That’s a great question. When you think about it, it seems strange that butterflies are so colorful. With so many predators like birds that want to eat them, wouldn’t being colorful be a disadvantage because it would make them stand out? For example, take this butterfly that’s bright orange. There’s no way a butterfly like that could hide from birds, right? But take a look at it in its habitat. It’s actually pretty well hidden. Or take a look at this bright green butterfly. When you see it in its habitat, it seems to blend right in with all the leaves. Colors like this are called camouflage. Camouflage colors help butterflies disguise themselves by blending in with their surroundings, making it harder for predators to find them.
But not all butterflies have colors to help them blend in. They may have bold spots or bright stripes that make them stand out. But wouldn’t these colors make them easy targets for a predator? What’s going on here? Why do you think some butterflies have bright colors and patterns that stand out instead of being camouflaged? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? Rather than having camouflage colors to help them hide or blend in with their surroundings, some butterflies have patterns that might startle or scare a predator. For example, the spots on its wings look just like the eyes of an owl, which might eat the kinds of birds that eat butterflies. And look closely at the tips of its wings; they look just like the head of a snake. So these patterns help protect butterflies by startling or scaring predators away.
Still, there are other butterflies that have bold, colorful patterns for another reason. For instance, this one doesn’t look like something that would scare a bird. Scientists have studied this butterfly, a long tail butterfly, and figured out it’s poisonous to birds. If a bird tries to eat a poisonous butterfly, it will taste bad and sometimes make the bird sick. So birds quickly learn to avoid butterflies like this. Their bright colors act like a warning signal.
Here are two other butterflies that signal to predators with bright colors. The one on the left is a monarch. It’s highly poisonous to birds. The one on the right might look like a monarch, but it’s a different kind of butterfly called a viceroy. It’s actually not poisonous; it just looks like it is. Many butterflies that aren’t poisonous have warning colors that mimic butterflies that are poisonous. If predators can’t tell the difference, they’ll leave them both alone.
So in summary, butterflies can be brightly colored for a lot of different reasons. Some of them, while it seems like they’d stand out, are actually well camouflaged in their habitats. Others have colors that scare away predators, either by looking like other animals or having warning colors to let predators know that they’re poisonous.
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Malia, for asking it. Now, we have something special for this week’s episode. My friends and I here at Mystery Science have created a step-by-step activity where you can create a card for someone special with your own colorful butterfly. You can find a link to the activity at the end of this video.
Okay, for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and found three questions submitted to me that I’m thinking about answering. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from why is it so hard to predict a tornado, how does Velcro work, or why do our eyes come in different colors? So submit your vote when the video’s over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious and see you next week.
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