The Battle Of Shade And Sun: Monarch Butterfly Edition Introduction
Under the radiant sun, we noticed that monarch butterflies may be found, basking and warming their wings in the sun's rays. Due to this fact, we began to wonder if monarch butterflies would prefer living in the sun or the shade. This led to the decision of conducting a research study on whether monarchs would prefer the shade or the sun. We measured how many monarchs were attracted to the dahlias grown in the sun, and compared them to the number of monarchs, that were attracted to the dahlias grown in the shade. It is believed that the monarchs will be more attracted to the dahlias grown in the sun. Therefore, if we planted dahlias in both the sun and the shade, the monarchs …show more content…
Therefore, living in the shade doesn’t really affect them. The shade doesn’t provide temperatures cold enough to present any dangers to the monarchs and the shade also provides shelter from the rain (Staake). Experimental Design
Procedures:
Purchase four pots of two different types of dahlias.
Find a field with full sun and a shady area to plant the dahlias.
Dig two 12 inch diameter by 12 inch deep planting holes, in both the sun and the shade.
Take the dahlias out of the pot and carefully squeeze the bottom to prepare them for planting.
Place the two dahlias in the two planting holes. Repeat for both the sun and shade.
Cover the remainder of the holes with soil.
Water the dahlias with 30 - 50 millimeters of tepid (warm) water 2 to 3 times a week.
Expose the dahlias planted in the sun to full sun in 60 degrees Fahrenheit temperature.
Expose the dahlias planted in the shade to partial sun in 60 degrees Fahrenheit temperature. Record the total number of monarchs attracted to the shade and sun and compare the …show more content…
On some days, it would be sunny and the perfect temperature for monarchs to bask in the sun. But on other days, it would be rainy and cold. As previously stated, monarch butterflies cannot survive in temperatures below 41 degrees or in wet weather. So since it was both rainy and cold while conducting the experiment, no monarchs could be attracted. Nevertheless, the dahlias used to attract the monarchs may also be a reason, to why no monarchs were attracted. Because dahlias also need to be grown at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and cannot survive in the rain, the dahlias sort of died. The petals of the dahlias became brown and they started to wilt. The petals then began to shrivel up and fall off the flower.
Moreover, since no data was collected, we cannot answer our question, do monarch butterflies prefer the sun or the shade. Therefore, we also cannot conclude if our hypothesis was rejected or accepted. However, we originally thought that the monarch butterflies will prefer the sun rather than the shade. But even after conducting the experiment, our hypothesis will not change, and we still believe that the monarchs will prefer the sun. Although in the future, we will do this experiment over the summer, to make sure that the temperature is consistent and substantial for the
Under the radiant sun, we noticed that monarch butterflies may be found, basking and warming their wings in the sun's rays. Due to this fact, we began to wonder if monarch butterflies would prefer living in the sun or the shade. This led to the decision of conducting a research study on whether monarchs would prefer the shade or the sun. We measured how many monarchs were attracted to the dahlias grown in the sun, and compared them to the number of monarchs, that were attracted to the dahlias grown in the shade. It is believed that the monarchs will be more attracted to the dahlias grown in the sun. Therefore, if we planted dahlias in both the sun and the shade, the monarchs …show more content…
Therefore, living in the shade doesn’t really affect them. The shade doesn’t provide temperatures cold enough to present any dangers to the monarchs and the shade also provides shelter from the rain (Staake). Experimental Design
Procedures:
Purchase four pots of two different types of dahlias.
Find a field with full sun and a shady area to plant the dahlias.
Dig two 12 inch diameter by 12 inch deep planting holes, in both the sun and the shade.
Take the dahlias out of the pot and carefully squeeze the bottom to prepare them for planting.
Place the two dahlias in the two planting holes. Repeat for both the sun and shade.
Cover the remainder of the holes with soil.
Water the dahlias with 30 - 50 millimeters of tepid (warm) water 2 to 3 times a week.
Expose the dahlias planted in the sun to full sun in 60 degrees Fahrenheit temperature.
Expose the dahlias planted in the shade to partial sun in 60 degrees Fahrenheit temperature. Record the total number of monarchs attracted to the shade and sun and compare the …show more content…
On some days, it would be sunny and the perfect temperature for monarchs to bask in the sun. But on other days, it would be rainy and cold. As previously stated, monarch butterflies cannot survive in temperatures below 41 degrees or in wet weather. So since it was both rainy and cold while conducting the experiment, no monarchs could be attracted. Nevertheless, the dahlias used to attract the monarchs may also be a reason, to why no monarchs were attracted. Because dahlias also need to be grown at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and cannot survive in the rain, the dahlias sort of died. The petals of the dahlias became brown and they started to wilt. The petals then began to shrivel up and fall off the flower.
Moreover, since no data was collected, we cannot answer our question, do monarch butterflies prefer the sun or the shade. Therefore, we also cannot conclude if our hypothesis was rejected or accepted. However, we originally thought that the monarch butterflies will prefer the sun rather than the shade. But even after conducting the experiment, our hypothesis will not change, and we still believe that the monarchs will prefer the sun. Although in the future, we will do this experiment over the summer, to make sure that the temperature is consistent and substantial for the