How do butterflies grow and change

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How do butterflies grow and change?

• Living things grow and change
• Butterflies grow from a caterpillar to a
  butterfly
• Today you will see just how this process happens!
• By Miss Peterson
• NEW Academy

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Butterfly Life Cycle
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Butterfly life cycle
Stage 1
The butterfly begins as an egg
A butterfly usually lays 200-500 eggs on plant
leaves and stems. Eggs from different butterflies
are different shapes and sizes. The caterpillars
hatch from the eggs about 5 days later.
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Butterfly life cycle
Stage 2
A larva hatches from the egg. The larva is a
young insect called a caterpillar.
Caterpillars first eat their eggshell, then they
eat lots of leaves. Each time the caterpillar
grows, it needs to shed its old skin or molt.
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Butterfly Life Cycle

• Stage 3

Pupa When a caterpillar has finished growing, it
forms a pupa. From the outside, the pupa looks as
if it's resting. But inside, every part of the
caterpillar is changing. Most of its organs and
other body parts dissolve and re-form into the
organs, tissues, limbs and wings of the adult.
Butterfly pupae are called chrysalises. Many moth
caterpillars spin cocoons and form pupae inside
them.
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Butterfly life cycle
Butterfly life cycle
Stage 2
Stage 4
A larva hatches from the egg. The larva is a
young insect called a caterpillar.
Last, the full grown butterfly flies out of the
chrysalis.
The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis
after several weeks. The butterfly looks for
another butterfly to mate with. After mating, the
female butterfly lays her eggs. Adult butterflies
usually live for only 2 weeks!
Caterpillars first eat their eggshell, then they
eat lots of leaves. Each time the caterpillar
grows, it needs to shed its old skin or molt.
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Butterfly life cycle
Review

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Butterfly life cycle
Movie
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Butterfly life cycle

• Check out these websites for more information!
• http//www.butterfly-guide.co.uk/life/index.htm
• http//www.stradsch.sa.edu.au/miers/
• http//www.thewildones.org/Animals/monarch.html
• http//www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Cycle.htm