Charles Darwin Born February 12,1809 Died April 19, 1882 Proposed a mechanism for evolution and supported it with scientific evidence.

Evolution by Natural Selection by Charles Darwin Individuals with traits that allow them to survive and reproduce will pass their traits on to the next generation more often. This is natural selection. Over time this results in changes in the traits of organisms in a population. This is evolution.

Natural Selection Activity

You are a Green-Eyed Gecko You are native to Malaysia. Your diet consists mainly of insects.

Your Prey: The Orchid Mantis

Your Prey: The Orchid Mantis Mantises vary in color from white to pink to purple. Their color allows them to be camouflaged in the flowers where they hunt insects. Their camouflage makes it difficult for geckos like you to find and eat them.

Natural Selection Activity Materials A Pack of Valentine’s Day M&Ms to represent the orchid mantises White Paper to represent the orchids that the mantises live on

Natural Selection Activity Procedure Randomly choose 10 mantises from your bank Spread the mantises on the piece of paper. Choose one person to be your gecko, and have that person face his/her back to the paper. Quickly turn and grab the first mantis you see, and turn back around. Repeat this five times. Record the mantises eaten. Allow the remaining five mantis’ to “reproduce.” They pass on their traits, so find another “mantis” that looks the same and place it on the paper. Repeat steps 3-7 as your “bank” supply allows.

Questions Which colored mantis was best adapted to survive and reproduce amongst the white orchids? Explain. What colored mantis becomes the most predominant in the succeeding generations of mantises? Explain. What colored mantis would survive and reproduce the best amongst pink orchids? Explain.