Download Habitat and Niche (Butterflies, Moths, Wasps, Bees, and Ants)

Lepidopteran (Butterflies and
Moths) and Hymenopteran (Bees,
Wasps, and Ants) Lab
Habitat and Niche
Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera
• You will explore the West campus ecosystem
searching for Hymenopterans and Lepidopterans.
• You will be responsible for locating three different
species of either Hymenoptera or Lepidoptera.
• You will describe where you found the individual
insect, its appearance (take a picture if you like),
and its behavior.
• Each of you will take down the information in
your lab notebook, which will be reviewed by me
(you will periodically hand in your notebook).
Ants, Wasps, and Bees
Butterflies and Moths
Habitat
• A place an organism lives is called its habitat.
Habitat can be thought of as a species’
address.
Niche
• A niche can be thought of as a specie’s job –
what it does to survive.
– Each species has its own unique “job” in an
ecosystem. Its niche affects the niche of every
other species in an ecological community.