QUESTION
Organisms can be beneficial or harmful to humans. For this discussion, you will research the Internet and choose ONE specific organism, i.e. Pufferfish (not a group of organisms, i.e fish) from the Animal Kingdom that is beneficial or harmful to humans as it relates to society and our daily lives. Members of the Kingdom Animalia are multi-cellular and eukaryotic. All animals are heterotrophs and must ingest other organisms for sustenance. Describe the biology of the animal that you chose and how it is beneficial or harmful to humans as it relates to society and our daily lives. The topic is butterflies. Must be in apa format and have in text citation and references.
Butterflies are invertebrate insects with scaled wings and belong to the order Lepidoptera. Butterflies lack a backbone and instead have an exoskeleton, a shell that covers their soft body and protects their critical organs. Butterflies go through metamorphosis, which causes the immature versus adult forms to be significantly different (Meineke et al., 2019). An adult butterfly comprises of two wings, six legs, and a lengthy body divided into three sections: the head,(Butterflies) thorax, and abdomen. Butterflies have dual compound eyes and two antennae. They possess a long tongue dubbed a proboscis that is ordinarily curled up beneath their head and only unfurled when the butterfly detects sugar.
A butterfly begins its existence as a little egg on a leaf or branch of a host plant. The host plant will give adequate nourishment for the caterpillar to consume. The egg hatches after many days to a week and emerges from the casing. As a caterpillar,(Butterflies) the monarch butterfly goes via five instars or phases (Meineke et al., 2019). The caterpillar sheds its outer skin as it grows into its new, more prominent skin. A monarch caterpillar lives for 10 to 14 days. The transition from larvae to adults occurs during the pupae stage and is finished in under two weeks.
According to Meineke et al. (2019), a butterfly is helpful to people because it serves as a pollinator. A pollinator refers to an animal that assists in the transmission of pollen from a flower’s male organ or stamen to the female organ or pistil. As the butterfly glides from bloom to flower, its wings are packed with tiny scales which discharge pollen. When a butterfly brushes up against a flower’s pistil, pollen is released on the stigma, the female part of the flower. The pollen then moves along the style towards the ovules, where fertilization occurs, and seed formation begins.
However, butterflies can be dangerous to people. Some butterflies, such as the monarch, can transmit botulism which may be deadly to people (Meineke et al., 2019). They may chew plant leaves or steal nectar from flowers, causing damage to the plants causing problems for farmers and gardeners.