Reading Comprehension - Butterflies

Butterflies

1 The butterfly is an insect. Butterflies are noted for their wings, which are often colorful and bright.

2 Butterfly wings are a bit like bird wings. Bird wings are made of feathers, but butterfly wings are made of tiny overlapping scales. The wings are colored in various patterns. Some butterfly wings look iridescent (changing rainbow colors, depending on the light) because of the way light hits the scales.

3 Butterflies have an interesting life cycle. They start as eggs. When they are born, they are what we call caterpillars. This is the larval stage for the caterpillar. The caterpillars then move into a cocoon, becoming what we call a chrysalis. This is the pupa stage. When the insect comes out of the cocoon, we call it a butterfly. This is the adult stage for the butterfly. These clear stages of changing on the way to adulthood are called metamorphosis. Many animals go through metamorphosis, but the butterfly’s changes are more dramatic than most.

4 Butterflies can be found almost all over the world. There may be as many as twenty thousand different species of butterflies.

5 Butterflies usually eat flower nectar. Because of this, they are important to the life cycle of many flowers. Butterflies also need minerals, which they usually get from water found in dirt and sand.

6 They reach their adult stage in the summer. Some adult butterflies migrate. The Monarch butterflies migrate about 3000 miles (4800 km) every year. They fly between Mexico and California.

Which question is answered in paragraph 3?

• Why do butterfly wings look iridescent?

• Where can butterflies be found?

• What do butterflies usually eat?

• When does the caterpillar become a chrysalis?

Tags

CCSS.RI.2.2

CCSS.RI.3.2

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.3.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

Here is part of a table of contents.

Butterflies

Butterflies of North America ……15

Butterflies of South America…….18

All About Wings……………………20

Life Cycle of a Butterfly…………..21

Migration…………………………….23

On page 21, there is an article about –

• how a butterfly grows

• how a butterfly flies

• where butterflies go in winter

• where butterflies live

Tags

CCSS.RI.1.5

CCSS.RI.2.5

CCSS.RI.K.5

Butterflies

1 The butterfly is an insect. Butterflies are noted for their wings, which are often colorful and bright.

2 Butterfly wings are a bit like bird wings. Bird wings are made of feathers, but butterfly wings are made of tiny overlapping scales. The wings are colored in various patterns. Some butterfly wings look iridescent (changing rainbow colors, depending on the light) because of the way light hits the scales.

3 Butterflies have an interesting life cycle. They start as eggs. When they are born, they are what we call caterpillars. This is the larval stage for the caterpillar. The caterpillars then move into a cocoon, becoming what we call a chrysalis. This is the pupa stage. When the insect comes out of the cocoon, we call it a butterfly. This is the adult stage for the butterfly. These clear stages of changing on the way to adulthood are called metamorphosis. Many animals go through metamorphosis, but the butterfly’s changes are more dramatic than most.

4 Butterflies can be found almost all over the world. There may be as many as twenty thousand different species of butterflies.

5 Butterflies usually eat flower nectar. Because of this, they are important to the life cycle of many flowers. Butterflies also need minerals, which they usually get from water found in dirt and sand.

6 They reach their adult stage in the summer. Some adult butterflies migrate. The Monarch butterflies migrate about 3000 miles (4800 km) every year. They fly between Mexico and California.

Which stage comes JUST BEFORE the adult stage?

• larva

• pupa

• cocoon

• chyrsallis

Tags

CCSS.RI.1.5

CCSS.RI.2.5

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RI.4.5

CCSS.RI.5.5

Butterflies

1 The butterfly is an insect. Butterflies are noted for their wings, which are often colorful and bright.

2 Butterfly wings are a bit like bird wings. Bird wings are made of feathers, but butterfly wings are made of tiny overlapping scales. The wings are colored in various patterns. Some butterfly wings look iridescent (changing rainbow colors, depending on the light) because of the way light hits the scales.

3 Butterflies have an interesting life cycle. They start as eggs. When they are born, they are what we call caterpillars. This is the larval stage for the caterpillar. The caterpillars then move into a cocoon, becoming what we call a chrysalis. This is the pupa stage. When the insect comes out of the cocoon, we call it a butterfly. This is the adult stage for the butterfly. These clear stages of changing on the way to adulthood are called metamorphosis. Many animals go through metamorphosis, but the butterfly’s changes are more dramatic than most.

4 Butterflies can be found almost all over the world. There may be as many as twenty thousand different species of butterflies.

5 Butterflies usually eat flower nectar. Because of this, they are important to the life cycle of many flowers. Butterflies also need minerals, which they usually get from water found in dirt and sand.

6 They reach their adult stage in the summer. Some adult butterflies migrate. The Monarch butterflies migrate about 3000 miles (4800 km) every year. They fly between Mexico and California.

This passage is MAINLY about –

• the way birds and butterflies are alike

• the life cycle of a butterfly

• the way a butterfly lives and grows

• the migration of butterflies

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.2

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.3.2

CCSS.RL.4.2