Cottage Hill Baptist School

Essay Paper Example

Outline I. Introduction II. The butterfly uses camouflage as a defense mechanism throughout different stages of its life cycle.   A. Butterflies lay transparent eggs on plants.   B. In the larva and pupa stage, they have unique colors and patterns.   C. Butterflies have eyespots on their wings. III. Some butterflies can protect themselves by being poisonous to the predators that try to consume them.   A. Caterpillars eat poisonous plants.   B. The chemicals stay in their body until adulthood.   C. The butterflies are brightly colored. IV. The butterfly uses mimicry to protect itself from predators.   A. Batesian mimicry is when a tasty butterfly resembles a non-tasty one.   B. Muellerian mimicry is when two non-tasty butterflies resemble one another.   C. In the tropics, mimicry rings have developed. V. Conclusion

Essay
Defense Mechanisms of a Butterfly

Introductory Paragraph      Have you ever wondered how some animals actually survive in the animal world? Animals need to have ways or need to create ways to defend themselves from hungry predators, which would love to devour them. There are a few animals that have several defense mechanisms because they are much more fragile than other animals and need the extra protection. The small and delicate butterfly is one such animal that has more than one way to protect itself. By using its three defense mechanisms of camouflage, poison, and mimicry, the butterfly has a better chance of surviving in the animal world.

Introductory Paragraph If possible, answer the questions Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How in the introductory paragraph. Who butterflies What defense mechanisms When   Where in the animal world Why to survive How camouflage, poison, and mimicry Introduction Paragraph Sentence 1 General statement or question about your topic - Get reader's attention (statement or question about animals surviving) Sentence 2 Less general sentence about your topic (animals need ways to defend themselves) Sentence 3 Less general sentence about your topic without using its name (a few animals are more fragile than others) Sentence 4 Identify the name of the thing you are writing about (the small and delicate butterfly is one such animal) Sentence 5 Thesis statement or statement of purpose- (By using its three defense mechanisms of camouflage, poison, and mimicry, the butterfly has a better chance of surviving in the animal world.)

2nd Paragraph of Body      Throughout the different stages of its life cycle, the butterfly uses camouflage to protect itself from predators. In the egg stage, the Blue Morpho, which lives in the rain forest, is cleverly concealed because it lays nearly transparent eggs. During a newly, fallen rain, these eggs are almost impossible to detect. In the larva and pupa stage, some butterflies use certain colors and patterns to escape from being eaten by predators. With its unique coloring, the pupa of the Morpho butterfly looks like an unripe fruit as it hangs from a plant. Some butterfly's coloring and patterns have even been known to resemble other animals, such as a snake. As adult butterflies, the Buckeye and the Owl Butterfly have unique spots on their wings that resemble eyes. These eyespots not only make the butterfly appear to be something it is not, but it also helps to divert any predator attacks to its wings instead of its body. The life cycle of the butterfly is greatly extended because of its ability to blend in with its surroundings.

2nd Paragraph of Body First sentence - Topic sentence Topic sentence about 1st point of theses statement (camouflage) Details (at least 6 sentences) Show at least 3 examples for the point of the topic sentence (camouflage). Create at least 2 sentences for each example (total of at least 6 sentences). 1. egg stage - transparent eggs 2. larva and pupa stage - colors and patterns 3. adult stage - eyespots Last sentence - Closing sentence Repeat or relect 2-3 words from topic sentence topic sentence - life cycle - camouflage closing sentence - life cycle - blend in with its surroundings

3rd Paragraph of Body      In addition to being able to blend in to their surroundings, some butterflies can protect themselves by being poisonous to the predators that try to consume them. As a caterpillar, some species eat poisonous plants such as the milkweed and the pipevine. Surprisingly, the chemicals from these plants do not harm the caterpillars. Another fascinating fact about these chemicals is that they can remain in their bodies even after they become butterflies. Luckily, these chemicals do not kill their predators, but only make them sick enough where they do not want to eat the butterflies. These, so called, poisonous ones usually have wings with a dark background and include the colors yellow, orange, and red. Eventually, birds and other predators learn to pass up the butterflies with the bright colors because they know it will make them sick if they eat them. Although some butterflies will get eaten while their predators are learning to avoid these brightly colored, poisonous species, this defense mechanism still helps most of the butterfly population survive.

3rd Paragraph of Body First sentence - Topic sentence Topic sentence about 2nd point of theses statement (poisonous) Details (at least 6 sentences) Show at least 3 examples for the point of the topic sentence (poisonous). Create at least 2 sentences for each example (total of at least 6 sentences). 1. eat poisonous plants 2. chemicals stay in body 3. bright colored wings Last sentence - Closing sentence Repeat or relect 2-3 words from topic sentence topic sentence - protect themselves - poisonous closing sentence - survive - poisonous

4th Paragraph of Body      Finally, the butterfly protects itself from predators by mimicking the way other species of butterflies look. Butterflies use two forms of mimicry, Batesian and Muellerian. When a nonpoisonous species copies the way a poisonous butterfly looks in its wing color and pattern, it is called Batesian mimicry. Some scientists believe that some nonpoisonous butterflies have evolved over time to copy the way other poisonous ones look so they will be avoided, too. Muellerian mimicry is when two non-tasty butterflies resembles one another. This is the case with the monarch and the viceroy butterfly, because both have similar rust and black markings and both are non-tasty to predators. In the tropics, mimicry rings, where many different species have the same colored markings, have developed. Although these butterflies are probably very tasty, they are usually avoided, because their predators have come to associate their markings with distasteful butterflies. Therefore, by copying the coloring and markings of other butterflies, which are known to be poisonousness, it gives the butterfly a better chance of not being preyed upon by their hungry predators.

4th Paragraph of Body First sentence - Topic sentence Topic sentence about 3rd point of theses statement (mimicry) Details (at least 6 sentences) Show at least 3 examples for the point of the topic sentence (mimicry). Create at least 2 sentences for each example (total of at least 6 sentences). 1. Batesian mimicry 2. Muellerian mimicry 3. mimicry rings Last sentence - Closing sentence Repeat or relect 2-3 words from topic sentence topic sentence - mimicking - protects itself from predators closing sentence - copying the coloring and markings - gives them a better chance of not being preyed upon

Conclusion Paragraph      In conclusion, by using camouflage, poison, and mimicry, the butterfly has a much better chance of surviving in the animal world. Camouflaging allows the butterfly to blend in with its surroundings, so its predators have a hard time locating them. Also, when the butterflies ingest poisonous plants while they are young caterpillars, it helps to fend off predators then and also when they grow into their older form, the butterfly. Finally, by looking like another species, the butterflies can trick its predators into believing they are something they are not. Although the butterfly seems so delicate, it has been supplied with some very clever ways to survive among all the hungry creatures of the animal world.

Conclusion Paragraph Sentence 1 Paraphrase of thesis or statement of purpose (restate in a different way) Sentence 2 Sums up 1st point in thesis statement or statement of purpose (camouflage) Sentence 3 Sums up 2nd point in thesis statement or statement of purpose (poison) Sentence 4 Sums up 3rd point in thesis statement or statement of purpose (mimicry) Sentence 5 Concluding sentence - closing thought about the report