Insects: Egg to Butterfly

Order a butterfly's life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 49

A butterfly starts as a tiny egg on a leaf. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed.
A caterpillar hatches, and it eats and eats! It grows so fast that it sheds its skin several times.
Then the caterpillar forms a chrysalis. Inside, its body changes completely. This big change is called metamorphosis.
A butterfly comes out, with wings! It lays eggs, and the cycle starts again.
Butterflies are insects. Insects have 6 legs and 3 body parts. Spiders have 8 legs, so they're not insects.
Try it with a grown-up! Plant milkweed in a sunny spot. In summer, look for monarch caterpillars munching on it.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Science:

S2L1.a — Ask questions to determine the sequence of the life cycle of common animals in your area: a mammal such as a cat, dog or classroom pet, a bird such as a chicken, an amphibian such as a frog, and an insect such as a butterfly.