Question

summarizing informational text quick check

\the ant, butterfly, and the oregano plant\
by nsikan akpan

large blue caterpillars only gain 1 to 2 percent of their body weight by nibbling on the oregano leaves during the early stages of life. the overwhelming majority of their sustenance — 98 to99 percent — comes from eating ants. but if butterfly larvae tried to trick the wrong patsies —non-myrmica ants — they’d likely get eaten. guessing right is a matter of life and death, and especially important given the large blue butterfly has relatively few eggs and is endangered.

from an evolutionary perspective, thomas and barbero say that the large blue butterflies gained an advantage by using scents to glean which oregano plants are fighting off myrmica invasions. at the same time, the plant only loses a small, non-lethal amount of its leaves to the caterpillar. and though myrmica might lose individual battles to the butterflies, the ants are invasive enough that their total populations aren’t at risk of being harmed by the butterflies.

use the passage from \the ant, the butterfly, and their chemical warfare with the oregano plant\ by nsikan akpan to answer the question.

connection large blue caterpillars do not pose a significant threat to the oregano plant.

which piece of evidence from the passage supports this connection? select the two correct answers
(1 point!)

• \but if butterfly larvae tried to trick the wrong patsies—non-myrmica ants—they’d likely get eaten.\
• \the overwhelming majority of their sustenance—98 to 99 percent—comes from eating ants.\
• \and though myrmica might lose individual battles to the butterflies, the ants are invasive enough that their total populations aren’t at risk of being harmed by the butterflies.\
• \large blue caterpillars only gain 1 to 2 percent of their body weight by nibbling on the oregano leaves during the early stages of life.\
• \from an evolutionary perspective, thomas and barbero say that the large blue butterflies gained an advantage by using scents to glean which oregano plants are fighting off myrmica invasions.\

Explanation:

To determine which evidence supports that Large Blue caterpillars do not pose a significant threat to the oregano plant, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Talks about butterfly larvae and non - Myrmica ants, not related to threat to oregano. Eliminate.
• Option 2: Shows most sustenance comes from ants, but doesn't directly relate to oregano threat. Eliminate.
• Option 3: Talks about ant populations, not oregano threat. Eliminate.
• Option 4: States caterpillars only gain 1 - 2% body weight from oregano leaves, showing minimal consumption, so low threat. This is valid.
• Option 5: Explains butterfly's evolutionary advantage, not oregano threat. Eliminate. Wait, no, re - evaluating: Wait, the second correct option: "The plant only loses a small, non - lethal amount of its leaves to the caterpillar" is not an option, but among the given options, "Large Blue caterpillars only gain 1 to 2 percent of their body weight by nibbling on the oregano leaves during the early stages of life" (option 4) and "The overwhelming majority of their sustenance—98 to 99 percent—comes from eating ants" (option 2) also: Wait, no, the connection is about threat to oregano. So option 4 shows they eat very little oregano, and option 2 shows they mostly eat ants, so both support that they don't pose a significant threat to oregano (since they don't rely on oregano for food). So the two correct options are:
• "The overwhelming majority of their sustenance—98 to 99 percent—comes from eating ants." (because if most of their food is ants, they don't need much oregano, so low threat)
• "Large Blue caterpillars only gain 1 to 2 percent of their body weight by nibbling on the oregano leaves during the early stages of life." (because they eat very little oregano, so low threat)

Answer:

B. "The overwhelming majority of their sustenance—98 to 99 percent—comes from eating ants."
D. "Large Blue caterpillars only gain 1 to 2 percent of their body weight by nibbling on the oregano leaves during the early stages of life."