Butterfly Eyes and other Secrets of the Meadow Vocabulary

"Beautiful bubbles

bubbles of foam

Bubbly castle,

snug bubble-home

keeps my skin tender

saves me from drought"

What does tender mean in this sentence?

• rough and bumpy

• soft or gentle, easily damaged

• beautiful

• crooked

"In the spittlebug's body, this sap is mixed with chemicals, then excreted and blown into a froth with a special nozzle on the tip of their abdomens."

What does the word excreted mean?

• entered into

• escaped from

• separated and removed from the body

• blown away

"The xylem and phloem vessels are like the 'veins' of a plant, carrying nutrients back and forth and helping to support the stem."

What does vessels mean in this sentence?

• tubes or passageways carrying fluid around organisms

• a type of public transportation, like a train

• a way out of a hard situation

"on a midsummer's day

when the pavement is steeped in heat

and cicadas are screaming,

follow my heady perfume

and you will track me down:"

What does steeped mean in this sentence?

• a hill with a large slope

• soaked, drenched

• tired

"-their favorite extra special secret

color sprinkled on tiny wingscales

like valentines and painted on the

most delectable blossoms

like bull's-eyes that we can't see

because our eyes are not theirs

is ultraviolet"

What is the meaning of ultraviolet in this sentence?

• bright or shiny in appearance

• very purple

• related to a color that is invisible to the human eye