Try this sample TOPS IDEA! hide-a-moth


1. Trace moths onto white paper, using this pattern.


…adapted from ANIMAL SURVIVAL #37 by TOPS Learning Systems


2. Camouflage to look like surfaces in your classroom. Use paint, crayon, or colored pencil.


I’ll make this one match our bulletin board.


How did I get talked into this?


3. Mount on chosen surfaces with tape rolled sticky-side-out.


4. Invite Hungry Bird, a family member or friend, to hunt for one minute.


5. Talk about the survivors’ coloration and adaptations.


© 2008 by TOPS Learning Systems. Photocopies permitted if this notice appears. All rights reserved.


OBJECTIVE To grasp camouflage as an adaptive survival strategy, an outcome of natural selection.


LAB NOTES Give a copy of the lab to each student.


Steps 1-3. More is better! Work with as many kids as possible, and let them make several moths apiece. Trace but don’t cut moths until step 3. This allows kids to color their moths against chosen sites with less risk of marking the wrong surfaces. Trim away visible outlines for best camouflage effect.


Step 2. Basic rules for resting sites: Moths must be visible from the center of the room, not under or behind things. They must be within reach (not on the ceiling or outside a window).


Step 4. Count moths placed before Hungry Bird arrives. Tally moths as they are “eaten,” calling time before all perish.


DISCUSSION


5. Why did some moths survive and others perish? Some were better camouflaged. Are luck and location important factors? Yes; this does not dim the importance of camouflage. How will offspring of survivors appear? Similar, but with individual variations. Natural se- lection requires many generations to effect change across an entire population. What are some advantages and disadvantages of camouflage as a survival strategy? Works while asleep, but not while moving. Works only on certain backgrounds.


EVALUATION


Q. England’s industrial revolution gradually coated the countryside with dark soot from factories. How did this affect moth coloration over time? A. Darker moths were less likely to be found and eaten, and more likely to pass their coloration on to their off- spring. Through natural selection, the moths gradually became darker over many generations.


EXTENSION Mix 12 toothpicks each of several colors. Scatter these


over different outdoor areas, then challenge students to find as many as they can in 1 or 2 minutes (no bare feet!). Which color hides best on a lawn? Dirt or rocks? A parking lot?


MATERIALS


• White paper; pencil, a bright window to trace against. • Paint, crayons, or colored pencils. • Scissors and tape. • Colored toothpicks (for Extension).


CLEARING 2010


More science with simple things at www.topscience.org www.clearingmagazine.org/online


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