I'm doing a butterfly project...I have a question about how to do it?

Question

This is the project:


The Butterfly's Secret: How Do Temperature and Light Affect the Time It Takes a Chrysalis to Hatch?

Experimental Procedure

As the Painted lady caterpillars formed into chrysalises I number them and put them into 1 of 4 clear plastic boxes. Box A: warm/light, temperature 71.4 deg F with 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Box B: warm/dark, temperature 71.4 deg. F. where there was 20 hours of darkness and 4 hours of daylight. Box C: cold/light, temperature 56.6 deg. F where there was 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Box D: cold/dark, temperature 57.1 deg. F where there was 20 hours of darkness and 4 hours of daylight. A digital thermometer is used.

My question is how can I properly regulate the temperature of the box that I keep them in? I really want to do this project so I need to figure this out. Anyone who can help me gets 10 POINTS okay? Thanx soo much!

i know how to keep them warm but still not sure how to keep the others cold.

Answer 1

What you need is access to a plant growth chamber, where you can set photoperiod and temperature. See if a local college has one you can use.

Answer 2

Your first job is to determine how precise the temperature needs to be maintained. You list the temperature at tenths of a degree (71.4, 57.1), but it is more likely that as long as the temperature remains within a few degrees, your experiment will still be valid. In this case, the room temperature in your house is around 71 degrees (hopefully, do you have air conditioning?) and that should keep Boxes A/B at the right temperature. To keep boxes C/D around 57 degrees, you need some way to cool them. Do you have a basement? Record the basement temperature, it may be cool enough. If that doesn't work, you probably need to use a refridgerator, but not the one you keep your food in, because you need to make the temperature warmer than food can safely be stored at. Or, you can try experimenting with ice in a cooler to get the temperature you need.

Answer 3

You can use aquarium heaters submerged in water for a consistent temperature if you want to regulate the humidity somewhat also. We have customers do this when they want to hatch out eggs from various reptiles. "Penn Plax" is more reliable than "Whisper" brand. We know from customers telling us. A certain amount of relative humidity is in the air outside anyway. In your artificial area, the humidity is probably way less than in the natural surroundings because of air conditioning/furnace use.
You can also purchase thermometers from a farm supply store. Make sure they are all at room temperature when you purchase them (the same exact temp). Outside thermometers are usually pretty reliable. Have fun with the experiment.

Answer 4

Ask Your Teacher If It Is Not Due The Next Day!!

Answer 5

You'll need incubators with thermostats to regulate temp.