2. Life cycle is a period in the life of an animal from time it becomes a
fertilized egg up to reproduction and death.
3. Life Cycle of a Butterfly
• Metamorphosis is another word for
change.
• The stages in the life cycle of butterfly are
egg, larva, pupa and adult.
4. Laying Butterfly Eggs
•
The very first stage of a butterfly life
cycle begins with the eggs that the
butterfly lays.
•
The average number of reported
eggs that a butterfly will lay is
about 700.
They only lay one egg at a time, but
they can lay many egg in a single
day.
•
•
The eggs are about the size
of a pinhead.
•
The butterflies lay their eggs on
the bottom of leaves where
they will be protected.
5. Stage One: The Egg
The female butterfly will lay
her eggs under a protective
leaf that later will become her
baby’s first meal.
The butterfly eggs will take about two to
three weeks to hatch.
When the butterfly egg hatches, a
caterpillar also known as, a larva will come
out.
A caterpillar hatches through the egg by
waving its head back and forth pulling its
body out slowly.
6. Stage Two: The Larva
•
Caterpillars or larva are very tiny and are
usually a pale green color when they
first hatch.
•
They have strong jaws for chewing
leaves:
- Their own egg, is the
caterpillars first meal.
- After they eat their egg, they
will eat the leaf that their mother had laid
them on.
•
The caterpillar will eat about thirty or
more leaves, and grow 3000 times its
original size, before the next stage of its
life cycle.
7. Stage Three: The Pupa
The caterpillar will:
•
Find a safe strong spot, like a
leaf or twig, to hang from.
•
Start squirting silk, moving
from side, creating a silk mat
with a tiny knob called a
button after shedding its skin
for the last time.
•
A hard case called the
chrysalis forms around the
caterpillar for protection while
it is preparing to become a
butterfly.
8. Stage Four: The Chrysalis
•
Inside the chrysalis the
caterpillar or pupa, becomes a
green liquid.
•
The green liquid begins to form
butterfly parts and the chrysalis
becomes more clear.
•
A fully clear chrysalis means
a butterfly is ready to
emerge : come out.
•
About three weeks later the
chrysalis splits, and the butterfly
can make its way out.
9. •
•
•
•
Now the butterfly is free to travel by air.
The butterfly will drink nectar, instead of chewing leaves.
BAD NEWS: The average butterfly will only live for about two weeks.
GOOD NEWS: Before the butterfly dies it will lay new eggs, out will come new
caterpillars, and eventually,
NEW BUTTERFLIES
10. Vocabulary words
1. twig – is a small thin
terminal branch of a
woody plant.
2. Nectar – is a sugar-rich
liquid produced by
plants.
3. Emerge – come out
4. Metamorphosis – is
another word for
change.
12. Write the stages of the following pictures on your notebook. Put 1 – 5 on the
blank.
_________ a.
____________ b.
__________ c.
____________ d.
___________ e.
