Explore Biodiversity with Kids -> National Icons

Sri Lanka’s 62nd Independence Day is celebrated on February 4. Puncha and Panchie are curious about the lion in Sri Lanka’s flag, and also want to know more about our National Flower, National Bird and National Tree…

Father came home early that day, after casting his vote, and was looking for something.

“Amma.. where is our National Flag..?” Father asked.”Check the cupboard,” replied Amma, who was busy making their lunch.

Panchie was curious. “Why are you suddenly looking for the National Flag Thaththa..?”
“Hey, Panchie… We celebrate our Independence Day on February 4th, every year, “Thaththa said, as he found the Flag and unfolded it.

“We should hoist the National Flag at our houses to mark Sri Lanka’s independence which we got in February 1948″, explained Thaththa while dusting the flag. “Why do some people call it the Lion Flag?” Panchie had another question.

“Ah Panchie… It is called the Lion Flag, because there is a lion printed on it,” Puncha who came from nowhere teased Panchie as usual. “A Lion..? I like them, because I heard they are so brave,” said Panchie.

“I’ve seen them on TV. They look beautiful with fur around their head.”"Yes, that is called a Mane. But only the male lions have it,” explained Thaththa. “The lion is called the king of the jungle.”"Will they catch us if we go to the jungle Thaththa?” Panchie was worried about their Professor Uncle who always went to the jungles to find out more about animals.

“No Panchie, we do not have lions in Sri Lanka. The lion in the flag signifies that we are a proud nation as brave as a lion,” Thaththa clarified.

“The lion was the symbol on the flag of Sri Wickrama Rajasingha – who was Sri Lanka’s last king – and we started using it as our National Flag with a few additions, at the time we got independence,” Thaththa explained.

“The lion also carries a sword to show its bravery,” Puncha added more to the discussion. “Thaththa, our teacher said that we have a National Flower too. Is it true?” Now Puncha was curious.”Yes, the Nil Manel or water lily is our National Flower. It is a bluish, star-shaped flower that grows in lakes. It was named our National Flower in February 1986,” Thaththa said.

“Remember the flowers we took to the temple to worship Lord Buddha..? That is Nil Manel,” he reminded both kids. Panchie loved the mild fragrance of the Nil Manel flowers. “Nil Manel is a symbol of purity and truth.”

“We also have a National Bird and a National Tree. Hasn’t the teacher told you about it..?” Amma, also joined their conversation.

“Yes.. yes.. I’ve forgotten,” Puncha now remembered what he had learnt last week at school. “The Na tree (Iron wood) is our National Tree and the Wali kukula (Jungle fowl) is our National Bird,” he was quick to add.

“Very good… Now come here, I will show you a Na tree,” said Amma, showing them the neighbour’s Na tree that could be seen from their kitchen. “Why are some of the leaves different Amma..?” asked Panchie seeing a mix of reddish and greenish leaves.

“Well, Panchie, the tender Na leaves are reddish in colour, but become green when they grow older,” Amma explained. Panchie had also seen the
neighbour’s rooster on the wall.

“Aiya… aiya… there is our National Bird… Come quick,” Panchie shouted.
“No Panchie, that is not a Jungle fowl. It is just a normal domestic rooster. The Jungle fowl lives only near jungles,” Puncha did not tease his sister this time.

“Because it is an endemic bird that can be seen only in Sri Lanka, we call it the Sri Lankan Jungle fowl,” Puncha knew a lot about birds. “I don’t understand Aiya.. that is also a fowl isn’t it?” Panchie was confused.

Puncha brought his school book. “Look Panchie, this is a Jungle fowl. Can you see it has a bright yellow and orange crest on its head, unlike the domestic rooster,” Puncha pointed out.

“But why do we need a National Bird, National Tree or a National Flower, Thaththa..?” Panchie asked.
“Well, most countries have symbols to show their uniqueness. It is also a respect to the unique
biodiversity of each country,” Thaththa said. “For example, the Sri Lankan Jungle fowl is an
endemic bird that can be seen only in our country and the Na tree and Nil Manel are culturally unique to our heritage,” Thaththa clarified.

After dusting the National Flag, Father gave it to Puncha, to be hoisted in readiness for Sri Lanka’s Independence Day.

Planting a tree on January 1, 2010 to commemorate the International Year of Biodiversity


Thivyan Suresh, St. Peter's College, Colombo 4


Claudia Reginald, Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena

Explore Biodiversity with Kids: BUTTERFLIES

Year 2010 – the International Year of Biodiversity dawned with new hopes. It was indeed a happy moment for Puncha & Panchie who planted trees to welcome the Year of Biodiversity. Both of them are now enjoying the gifts given by Santa Claus and exploring biodiversity around them.
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“Aiya… what have you done to my plant?” Panchie started the day with a big complaint. “Look Seeya, aiya has torn the leaves of my plant!” Panchie was about to cry. “I haven’t done anything,” shouted Puncha from the backyard. He was busy observing the birds through his binoculars.

Keeping the newspaper aside, Seeya walked into the garden. “Look Seeya, half of the leaves are missing from the lemon plant that I planted to welcome the Year of Biodiversity.”"Hmm… Let me see…” said Seeya rubbing his long beard. Puncha came too.

“I haven’t done anything Nangi.” Puncha felt sorry for Panchie. Half of the leaves of the lemon plant were gone. Seeya was busy observing and turning the remaining leaves upside down. “Here is the culprit!” Seeya took a half eaten leaf, and twisted it to the other side. “WHERE… WHAT?” Punchie was furious, Puncha was curious.

“Eeeya…. It is a worm!!” Punchie had taken a step back. “Not exactly! It is a caterpillar,” Seeya said wearing his spectacles. “Look, it has hair on its body. You may start itching, if the caterpillar touched your skin”.

“Ohh.. Is it dangerous? Let’s throw it onto the other side of the road,” Puncha suggested. “Yes, the ugly one has eaten my lemon plant,” Panchie nodded. “Hmm…” Seeya again started rubbing his beard and started searching around. There were a few butterflies flying around. “Look, aren’t they beautiful? ” Seeya asked. “Yes, yes.. they are coming to the flowers in our garden.

I like them very much!” shouted Puncha. “Aha… Then you should not throw the caterpillars away,” winked Seeya. “Yes, I like butterflies, but I hate this ugly worm,” said Panchie. “Well…Well…!! Caterpillars are the small stage of butterflies,” Seeya explained. Puncha still didn’t believe it. “But Seeya, they look totally different. Caterpillars don’t have wings”. “Yes, it is a different cycle. Come, I’ll explain.” Both Puncha and Panchie sat on the lawn.

“First the butterfly mother lays tiny eggs on a leaf of a selected tree. After a few days, a tiny caterpillar comes out of the egg. First it eats the shell of the egg and then starts eating the leaf it lives on. After it gets bigger, it suddenly stops feeding and starts making a small enclosure called a Chrysalis which looks like a cocoon. The caterpillar seals itself in this chamber and inside it, the caterpillar changes clothes and turns into a butterfly,” explained Seeya step by step.

“But how does the caterpillar know it’s time to make the chrysalis?” Puncha asked. “The caterpillar has a chemical called juvenile hormone in its body that is made by its brain. Whenever a caterpillar sheds its skin and the juvenile hormone level is high, it goes to the next caterpillar stage. When the juvenile hormone level is low, the caterpillar wanders around to find a site to make its cocoon,” explained Seeya.

“So will the caterpillar that has eaten my lemon leaves turn into a butterfly soon..?” Panchie was now curious… “Yes, if it can escape the birds that come to eat it, then this little caterpillar too will become a butterfly,” explained Seeya.

“But why did he only eat the leaves of my lemon plant? There are more plants nearby,” Panchie was still sad that the caterpillar ate her plant. “The butterfly mother lays eggs on specific plants. For example, this butterfly variety lays eggs only on lemon trees. We call these plants the host plant of that particular butterfly.”"Wait…” Punchie remembered something and ran into her room.

She had a butterfly wing that she had found lying on the ground. “Seeya, I found this a few weeks ago and kept it in my toy box.” She showed her treasure to both Seeya and Puncha. It was a colourful butterfly wing.

“Hey, Punchie… You have lots of dust on your hands. Mother will scold you now,” Puncha had noticed a powder-like dust on his sister’s hand.

“Let me see..” Seeya wanted to check. “This is not dust. Butterfly skin is made out of tiny scales. Your Professor Uncle will call the butterflies scientifically as Lepidoptera.

This name is derived from the Latin language; “lepido” means scale and “ptera” means wing,” explained Seeya.

Now they observed the different coloured butterflies who visited their garden. They sip nectar from one flower and then fly to the other, feeding on the nectar in those flowers. “Do you know this feeding habit of the

butterflies helps plants to pollinate..? Yes, it is very important that the male and female pollen mix in order to produce seeds. So the butterfly helps make sure this function happens properly.”

“Come here little butterfly… Come to me…” Punchie start shouting to the orange colour butterfly that sat on the flower infront of her. “Punchie… Butterflies don’t have ears to hear what you say. However butterflies have sensors in their antennae,” explained Seeya.

Seeya had also drawn a picture of a butterfly with all its parts. Seeya also explained how it drinks nectar from flowers, using a long tube called a proboscis. “Like we drink soft drinks using a straw, the butterfly sips nectar from flowers using its proboscis.”

Punchie came closer to Seeya and asked something shyly. “Ha…Ha… No Punchie… Adult butterflies do not go to the bathroom. Unlike caterpillars that do all of the eating, adults mainly feed on flower nectar. Occasionally adult butterflies drink so much, they must emit a fine liquid spray from the tip of their abdomen but it is almost pure water,” said Seeya.

“Do you know that we have 244 different butterfly varieties in Sri Lanka…? Out of them 20, are endemic, that means these butterfly varieties can be seen only in our country. So it is important that we
protect them. Come, let’s go and place these caterpillars on the large lemon tree full of leaves, so the caterpillar can have enough food and your plant can grow again.” Taking the caterpillar onto a leaf, Seeya got up and walked to big lemon tree.

“Make a wish that this caterpillar will turn into a beautiful butterfly..” Both Puncha & Panchie closed their eyes and made their wish..!!

Some butterflies found in Sri Lanka – Pics by Aruna Seneviratne

 

Published on 17.Jan.2010 on FundayTimes http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100117/FunDay/fut_05.html