Vincent VanDuca

Lesson Overview:
Students will spread gel style food coloring onto desired Manduca parts and let them walk across white or colored paper. Students will get a better look at Manduca footprints and movement style. They will use rulers to measure and compare Manduca stride and body segments. Plus is makes for great wall art!

There are enough ideas for experiments to last multiple days, depending on how indepth you would like to get with your students.

IMPORTANT!! This experiment must be done at the wandering stage.

Subject Area Focus: Art, Science and Math

Objectives:

1. Examine Manduca foot structure
2. Examine Manduca travel pattern
3. Explore lengths of stride comapred to body segment size
4. Explore the functions of prolegs, legs, mouth and tail in the movement process
5. Make beautiful art

Materials:

• Food coloring in gel form
  * If gel style can't be found you will need paintbrushes to spread traditional style food coloring on the specified parts
• Rulers
• Plain white computer paper
• Towels
• Water/sink

Procedure:

1. Break into pairs or groups of threes and remove dirt or frass off of your Manduca.
2. Observe Manduca walk across the paper. How do they get from one place to another? What body parts do they use?
3. Place one color gel on Manduca's last two legs and another on its second to last set of legs. Observe the Manduca movement and the foot steps it produces.
4. Measure the distance between each set of foot prints. Measure one segment on your Manduca. Are they the same length? Which one is bigger?
   *The stride should be greater in length than the actual segment because Manduca streches its body to inch forward.
5. Is the stride longer when Manduca moves faster or slower?
6. Place a new color on Manduca's mouth part.
   Does manduca use its mouth to move?
   Does Manduca use its head and mouth part for searching?
7. Place a new color on Manduca's tail (last foot looking structure).
   Does this stride measure the same length as the main leg stride? Is it shorter or longer?
8. Place a new color on Manduca's prolegs.
   Does this stride measure the same length as the main leg stride? Is it shorter or longer?
9. Discuss as a whole group observations made, ideas and conclusions.
10. Let paint dry overnight and hang your masterpieces for everyone’s delight. Manduca can be washed off if you wish, but the food coloring will do them no harm and will wear off eventually.