Butterflies

Movie title reads, "Butterflies, with Annie and Moby."

A young girl, Annie, and her robot friend, Moby, are outdoors. Annie is reading a book when a butterfly flutters by her.

ANNIE: Check it out! It's a butterfly!

Onscreen, Moby beeps with fear. He runs away from the butterfly.

ANNIE: Don't worry, Moby, it's not going to hurt you! What are butterflies?

Annie’s notebook reads: What are butterflies?

ANNIE: Butterflies are a type of insect, like ants and beetles.

Onscreen, a butterfly, ant, and beetle appear.

ANNIE: Butterfly bodies have three main parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen.

Onscreen, the head, thorax, and abdomen are labeled on a butterfly. The thorax is the middle section closer to the head. The abdomen is farthest from the head.

ANNIE: And like insects, they also have three pairs of legs, and two antennas. Butterflies use their antennas to smell for food. They drink the nectar of different flowers.

Onscreen, a butterfly lands on a flower.

ANNIE: They have a special body part called a proboscis, which is like a long straw butterflies use to drink.

Onscreen, the butterfly’s proboscis uncurls to drink nectar from the flower. Then, Moby uses a straw to drink milk.

MOBY: Beep.

ANNIE: How do butterflies stay safe?

Annie’s notebook reads: How do butterflies stay safe?

ANNIE: Butterflies have two wings that are covered in tiny scales. They can be really colorful and have cool patterns.

Onscreen, four butterflies appear: yellow, green, blue, and white butterfly.

ANNIE: Some butterflies use their bright colors to warn that they're poisonous.

Onscreen , a Blue Morpho butterfly flies through the rainforest.

ANNIE: Other butterflies fool predators by looking like poisonous butterflies, even though they're not.

Onscreen, a poisonous Monarch butterfly appears next to a non-poisonous viceroy butterfly. They look alike, with orange and black wings.

ANNIE: Others use camouflage and hide in their environment to stay safe.

Onscreen, an Indian leaf butterfly hides in the leaves, blending in with its surroundings.

ANNIE: Some butterflies have dark colors on one side. But, when they open their wings, they're really colorful!

Onscreen, a bird watches a Brown Peacock butterfly. The butterfly opens its wings, showing its bright colors, and the bird flies away.

ANNIE: This surprises predators and scares them away.

Onscreen, Moby is using a magnifying glass to look at a caterpillar on a leaf.

ANNIE: Cool! A caterpillar! How do butterflies grow and change?

Annie’s notebook reads: How do butterflies grow and change?

ANNIE: A life cycle describes how a living thing grows and changes.

Onscreen, a Word Wall card reads: life cycle: how living things grow and change.

ANNIE: Adult female butterflies lay their eggs on leaves and other places. Different butterflies lay their eggs on different plants. Many butterflies lay eggs on plants that will be food for their young.

Onscreen, different colored butterfly eggs appear on three different leaves.

ANNIE: When an egg hatches, a larva crawls out.

Onscreen, Moby points to the caterpillar and beeps.

ANNIE: Right, Moby! The larva is called a caterpillar. Caterpillars can be colorful and have different patterns. Some caterpillars are even hairy.

Onscreen, 3 different caterpillars appear: one is striped, one is colorful, and one is hairy.

ANNIE: The caterpillar eats and eats to grow. It even sheds its skin as it gets bigger.

Onscreen, the caterpillar eats a leaf.

ANNIE: Some caterpillars are really tiny, but others are really big! Then the caterpillar changes into a pupa, which is also called a chrysalis.

Onscreen, Moby points to a pupa hanging from a branch and beeps.

ANNIE: Not all caterpillars spin cocoons! Some moth caterpillars spin a cocoon around them and turn into a pupa inside.

Onscreen, a moth caterpillar spins a cocoon around itself.

ANNIE: But, butterfly caterpillars do NOT make cocoons. The pupa goes through metamorphosis. It can take a few days or even a few weeks! During metamorphosis, the pupa grows wings and goes through other big changes to become an adult.

Onscreen, a Monarch butterfly caterpillar goes through metamorphosis. It changes from a caterpillar to a chrysalis to a butterfly. It then flies away.

ANNIE: Adult butterflies and moths look a lot different from caterpillars!

MOBY: Beep.

ANNIE: Some butterflies migrate and travel for many miles so they can lay their eggs in warmer or drier places.

Onscreen, Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico for the winter.

ANNIE: There are many different kinds of butterflies around the world. I like observing butterflies in our community and keeping track of what I see.

Onscreen, Annie watches a yellow butterfly. She writes in her notebook. Moby looks scared.

ANNIE: There's really nothing to be afraid of, Moby.

Onscreen, the butterfly lands on Moby’s head.

ANNIE: I think it likes you!