An Earthwatch
TeachLive Project
Supported by National Geographic Education Foundation
QUESTIONS
from STUDENTS
Asked by students from
Valley Christian Elementary, The Harry Eichler School, Richmond Hill,
NY and Mullica Township Middle School, Mullica Township, NJ
| Question: | What does butterfly scat look like? |
| Caterpillar scatt called "frass", looks like small balls. Butterfly waste is liquid and looks like very small amounts of bird droppings. | |
| Question: | Do butterflies eat other insects? |
| Caterpillars do more eating than a butterfly. Almost all caterpillars eat plant parts, but a few are carnivorous. Caterpillars of the carnivorous Harvester butterfly of the eastern U.S. eat wooly aphids. The adult female butterfly lays her eggs in the middle of aphid masses. | |
| Question: | Do caterpillars have teeth? |
| Caterpillars have opposable toothed mandibles to chew their food. These can be seen with a magnifying glass. | |
| Question: | Is Vietnam a rocky place? |
| I have never seen so many rocks! I am amazed that these people are able to farm with all these, they hardly remove any of them, just plan the chayote seed right in the dirt. Farmers make rock walls and barricades from many rocks found in the soil. Mountain sides are covered with rocks and large rock formations jut out of the ground in random places, giving a unique quality to the landscape. | |
| Question: | How many butterflies have you seen? |
| We have seen 83 species of butterflies and a total of 1133 individuals. Of course, that is only the number we actually recorded (which we were able to identify) - we saw many others in flight and on 'unofficial walks' through the villages. | |
| Question: | Are other languages spoken in Vietnam? |
| So many languages, everyone begins learning English in grade 2. French is popular, left over from the French occupation, especially here in the north. Chinese characters are everywhere but not spoken widely. and Vietnamese has SO many dialects! | |
| Question: | What color are butterfly wings? |
| If you can imagine a color it will probably be on some butterfly. There are too many to count. Lots of blues and browns, yellows and blacks. some wings are clear, that looks cool. white spots on some. Various shades of blues and greens, the variety is very wide. | |
| Question: | What is the weather in Vietnam? |
| Just like the US, weather can vary. The weather has been wonderful on this trip, since I am visiting during the dry season. The sun has been out most days, some days it was a little cloudy, there is always a haze over the area - even in the countryside, air quality is very poor. The weather report tells right now that there are scattered showers (it is the middle of the night at the moment) but I don't see it raining outside where I am. During the rainy season it can be nasty, I understand, with rain falling steadily for weeks at a time, but I haven't had to deal with any of that. | |
| Question: | Are you allowed to have a Bible there? |
| I haven't seen any or been in any homes, but from what I have seen, I think it is legal. Catholic churches are popular here, so Bibles wouldn't be unusual. Things are much more relaxed than we might imagine - I know I am a little surprised. | |
| Question: | What do you do after you catch a butterfly? |
| Reach carefully into the net and take hold of the thorax, careful not to touch the wings. then take it out, look at it ,then set it down on a hand or leaf so it can fly away. | |
| Question: | How many butterflies are in Vietnam? |
| There are over 300 species found in Vietnam. | |
| Question: | Have you ever seen a butterfly break out of a cocoon? |
| I have as a younger person, but not on this trip. If you would like to see a video of one, though, here is a link you will enjoy. It is a Live Butterfly web cam and a couple of small videos, one shows a caterpillar coming out of a cocoon (I think the motion is sped up because it actually takes much longer - sometimes up to 2 days). If you are able to open YouTube web pages, this video is a little better. Monarch Hatching - or this one below, a Crysalis Hatching |
site and materials by Bonita Coleman