Activity: How do harakeke caterpillars eat the leaf? – Level 3
Achievement Objectives - Whāinga Paetae: Te Weu
3.1 Learn about the special features of organisms that help them stay alive. Te Marautanga o Aotearoa: (p.100) Te Ao Tūroa, Te Rauropi 1
Learning Outcome
I will be able to:
- draw the head of a caterpillar
- make a model of a caterpillar’s head with a set of jaws that cut notches into a leaf
- make a set of jaws that scrape holes in a leaf
- explain to others how caterpillars eat leaves.
Success criteria
| Success criteria | Self-assessment | Peer assessment | Teacher assessment | ||||||
| I can draw the head of a caterpillar. | |||||||||
| I can make a model of a caterpillar’s head with a set of jaws that cut notches into a leaf. | |||||||||
| I can make a set of jaws that scrape holes in a leaf. | |||||||||
| I can explain how caterpillars eat leaves to others. | |||||||||
Have a look at a caterpillar’s head using a magnifying glass and compare it to the drawing below of a caterpillar’s head. The jaws are outside the mouth and move sideways, biting off chunks of leaf. See if you can find the jaws on your caterpillar. Make a drawing of your caterpillar’s head.
There are two types of caterpillar that feed on the harakeke leaf. One of the caterpillars has jaws that bite a notch in the leaf. The other type of caterpillar has jaws that scrape the top of the leaf to eventually make a hole. What do you think the jaws of each caterpillar would be like?
Make a model of the caterpillars head with a removable set of jaws, a bit like a set of false teeth. Make two sets of replaceable jaws that fit into the caterpillars head. One set of jaws will cut notches into a leaf, and other set will scrape a hole in the leaf. Explain how your jaws work to others in the class. How similar are your jaws to others in the class? What other groups of animals have jaws for special purposes?
You can either produce your own model of the caterpillar's head or use the template below.
