Friday April 16th, 2021
Metamorphosis is fascinating, and super weird. Caterpillars live an entirely different life than adult butterflies– their food, their bodies, and more change completely.
How does that work? And did you know many insects, not just moths and butterflies, experience metamorphosis? We’ll talk LIVE to some caterpillar experts, make some cool crafts, and more!
Visit to The Caterpillar Lab
The Caterpillar Lab is a non-profit started in 2013 by Executive Director Sam Jaffe. Their goal is to help people learn about insects, their life stories, their value, and all the other amazing things about them. Utilizing art, photography, science, and an excited staff devoted to these creatures, the lab excites minds both young and old to the wonders of insects.
Anytime Activities:
Metamorphosis Madlibs
You’ve heard of MadLibs, the stories with some words missing. Review your nouns, verbs, and adjectives with two very silly Bug Stories. (All Ages)
Caterpillar Metamorphosis Craft
Metamorphosis of an Entomologist
We just love this video profile of one of our graduate students, Aaron Rodriques. “You can’t love something if you’re afraid of it.” (All Ages)
Everyone Poops, but Some Caterpillars Throw It
Many caterpillars don’t like to be near their poop, but who can blame them? By distancing themselves from their waste, caterpillars keep their living area clean and avoid diseases and parasites.
Lichen moths start as cute caterpillars, eating lichens they find on tree trunks and rocks. But these caterpillars have a surprising secret: they are poop throwers. Technically called Frass Flicking, the caterpillar traps poop on anal prolegs as it exits the… uh…. pipeline.
Once fully loaded, the caterpillars do a back kick to throw the poop away — sometimes great distances!
Frass is the scientific term for insect poop.
MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS: here is a fantastic lesson plan related to caterpillar poo throwing!