Lesson Summary Students realize that butterflies have their place in the environment. Teacher Background There are main characteristics that identify insects: six legs, three main body sections (head, thorax, and abdomen), two antennae, and two pair of wings.  The butterfly’s proboscis remains coiled up by its head when not in use.  Wings protect the butterfly in two ways: for escaping from predators and acting as camouflage.  The butterfly tastes with its second and third pairs of feet. Set-up/Management Tips Do not release butterflies as this lesson suggests.  The National Science Resources Center advises against the release of organisms used in the STC program (like butterflies).  Please see the “Materials Management and Safety” section in your manual for more information regarding this.  Instead keep them in the classroom to complete the life cycle or use one of the other suggestions listed in the manual. Look for eggs in the butterfly cage.  They are a blue-green color and are very tiny.  If students are having a difficult time seeing the eggs, you may want to see if your media center has a flex cam available for checkout.  This will allow you to show the eggs on the TV screen for all to see. Literacy Support There are currently no VAST Mediagraphies listed for this unit.  Scientific Vocabulary No new vocabulary was introduced in this lesson.  Review relevant words from previous lessons.