Clocks and Compasses: teacher key

Butterflies, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. Read about what is rebuilt inside the chrysalis, how monarchs steer, and how their numbers stand.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. As of February 2024, eastern monarchs covered 0.9 hectares in winter 2023-24, less than half the winter before. How much did the winter before cover?
   • More than 1.8 hectares (answer)
   • Less than 0.9 hectares
   • About 0.9 hectares
2. Where are the timing clocks that correct the monarch's sun compass?
   • In its wings only
   • In its feet
   • In its antennae, not only in its brain (answer)
3. What does the monarch's magnetic compass sense?
   • The tilt of Earth's magnetic field (answer)
   • The smell of milkweed
   • The sound of wind
4. What does diapause mean in 'Monarchs in diapause can live for many months'?
   • A fast flight
   • A long rest in growth or breeding (answer)
   • A kind of flower
5. Which parts of the caterpillar carry on into the adult?
   • Only the skin
   • Nothing at all
   • Some muscles, parts of the nervous system, the breathing tubes and the gut (answer)

Words

• imaginal: adult-building
• hormones: body signals
• polarized: lined-up light
• diapause: long rest