LMCS HOME : Middle School : 7th Grade : Science : Example 1

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Science students tagged Monarch butterflies in connection with the Monarch Watch program from the University of Kansas. The butterflies being tagged are part of a super generation. This is because they live for nine months and migrate to the highlands of Mexico, while most Monarchs only live for three weeks. The Monarchs present a heredity puzzle to the researchers because these butterflies somehow find their way even though they are five generations apart from the last group that migrated.

Students in this unit were able to look at how animals adapt to survive and how science and technology are used to discover and solve problems.

Lisa Ralls, Winnebago County Naturalist, assisted with this project. Various stages of this activity are shown below.

	These Monarchs are waiting for their tags. The butterflies were collected from the roadsides and prairies the day before tagging.
The students had to determine whether the butterflies were male or female. The butterfly shown is a male. This is known by the scent glands on the lower portion of the wing.
	An ultra-light tag is placed on the underside of the wing in the largest cell.
Each butterfly's sex, tag number, date, and location collected is recorded by Lisa Ralls.
	The Monarch butterflies are then released to continue their journey to Mexico.