State the Problem:

What is the effect of temperature on the metamorphosis of the Painted Lady Butterfly?

Variables/Scientific names:
Vanessa cardui - Painted Lady Butterfly

Research:

• The Vanessa cardui caterpillars eat thistle, which can be an invasive weed.
• During the first stage of the life cycle, the female Vanessa cardui lays eggs on a
plant that attracts Vanessa cardui caterpillars, such as hollyhock or thistle.
• The Vanessa cardui eats insects
• The heat seems to be making the Vanessa cardui grow faster.

Rationale:
This experiment is worth doing because some butterflies might be brought to some places with
temperatures they are not used to and we should know if the temperature is bad for them. We
were thinking to do cold temperature but we did some research and found out that if the
temperature is to cold then the butterflies might die. So we tested the metamorphosis’s only in
room temperature and hot temperature.

Hypothesis:
A.C: I predict that the heat will make grow faster, but the normal will be healthier.
T.V.T: I predict that the heat is bad for the butterflies
AW: I predict the heat will make them grow faster, and the room temperature and heat are the
same healthy.
My Supplies:

• Painted Lady caterpillars

• Heat pads
• Containers
• Sliced, oranges
• Sticks and leaves

My Plan:
We are going to put our six butterflies in different places. We will put three on the heat pad, and
three with nothing. With nothing means just in room temperature. Room temperature in our
science room.

The Results: (usually a picture or a graph:

Date Observation

11/19/19 All the butterflies were in eggs

12/3/19 The butterflies on heating pads were in cacoons
12/9/19 Three of the butterflies on heating pads were butterflies
12/12/19 Four of the Vanessa cardui were butterflies
12/17/19 Three of the Vanessa cardui in room tempature were butterflies
12/18/19 The butterflies are the same but its clear that the butterflies on heating pads
are healthier
1/7/20
Hot:

Room Temperature:
My Conclusion:
Looking at our results, it’s clear that AC’s original hypothesis was right. One way we know it is right is
because the heated ones were moving through the metamorphosis faster than the room temperatures
and one of the heated ones died. We think this happened because the butterflies are used to warm
temperature, but not that warm. Another interesting thing that happened was that all the heated butterflies
died over Winter Break, they all died even though they got fed every day. I think this was because the
heated ones were not as healthy as the room temperatures. In conclusion, it turns out that the heated
ones were not that healthy. If I were to do this again, two things I would change would be to do the
experiment in summer and see the different results and to feed them something besides oranges and
tangerines.