Did You Know?

Camouflage is an adaptation that some animals use to hide themselves from predators or to seek or hunt for food. But this isn't your average Hide and Seek game-it's a matter of survival! If these amazing animals don't blend into their environment, they don't eat. Or worse yet, they'll be eaten.

Industrial melanism is an adaptation, through natural selection, to industrial soot pollution. A classic example of industrial melanism is the peppered moth (Biston betularia). In England, during the Industrial Revolution, soot covered much of the landscape. Before the soot problem, the moth's light, speckled coloration helped to camouflage it on birch tree trunks. After pollution covered many of the trees with soot, a dark form of the moth was observed (the dark-colored variety were now better camouflaged from birds and more likely to survive and reproduce). The dark form of the peppered moth was first observed in 1848, and by 1895, 95 percent of the peppered moths were of the darker variety.

Mimicry is when two unrelated species have similar markings. Batesian mimicry is when a non-poisonous species has markings similar to a poisonous species and gains protection from this similarity. An example is the Viceroy which mimics the poisonous Monarch. MŸllerian mimicry is when two poisonous species have similar markings; fewer insects need to be sacrificed in order to teach the predators not to eat these unpalatable animals. An example is the poisonous Queen butterfly which mimics the poisonous Monarch.

Design Challenge

Invent a critter for a specific environment, chosen through pictures found in magazines, books, internet sites, etc. Include in the design structures and functions needed for the specific environment (what does the critter eat? How is the critter's body designed for eating? How does the critter move...fly, crawl, jump, creep? How does the body support that movement? Does your critter go through metamorphosis? If so, how does the critter camouflage itself during each stage of its life?) Design the specific way(s) that the critter camouflages itself for the given environment.

Constraint: Your critter needs to be true to laws of the natural world (e.g. if your critter can fly it has to have structural body parts that can physically support this function).

Extension: Make a 3D version of your bug, camouflaged it in its environment.

Some suggested materials: paper towel rolls, bubble wrap, tooth picks, twist ties, egg cartoons, oatmeal boxes, construction paper, glue (stick or liquid), paint, old fabric, felt, pipe cleaners

Standards Addressed

Life Science:
Grade 3: Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism's chance for survival.

Grade 4: Living organisms depend on one another and their environment for survival; All organisms need energy and matter to live and grow.

Grade 5: Plants and animals have structures for respiration, digestion, waste disposal and transport of materials.

Grade 6: Organisms in ecosystems exchange energy and nutrients among themselves and with the environment.

Grade 7: The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate the complementary nature of structure and function.

Physical Science:
Grade 7: Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations.