The Butterfly Life Cycle for Kids
A butterfly begins as something that does not look like a butterfly at all. Follow four remarkable stages from a tiny egg to a flying adult.
What is a life cycle?
A life cycle is the series of stages a living thing passes through as it grows and reproduces. Butterflies go through complete metamorphosis, which means the young and adult forms look very different.
The four main stages are egg, larva, pupa and adult. For butterflies, we usually call the larva a caterpillar and the pupa a chrysalis.
The four stages
Egg
A female butterfly lays tiny eggs, often on a plant that the young caterpillar will be able to eat. Inside each egg, a new caterpillar begins to develop.
Caterpillar
The caterpillar hatches and eats. As it grows, its outer skin becomes too small, so it sheds that skin several times. A caterpillar is the larva stage of a butterfly.
Chrysalis
When it is ready, the caterpillar forms a chrysalis. It may look quiet from the outside, but a major change called metamorphosis is happening inside.
Adult butterfly
The adult emerges with soft, wrinkled wings. It pumps fluid into them and waits while they expand and dry. Then it can fly, feed and eventually lay eggs of its own.
Is a chrysalis a sleeping bag?
No. A chrysalis is the butterfly's pupa stage. The animal is alive and changing inside it. The caterpillar's body is reorganized into the body of an adult butterfly, including wings, long legs and a coiled feeding tube called a proboscis.
Three questions to ask a child
- Which stage looks least like the adult butterfly?
- Why might a caterpillar need to eat so much?
- What would you watch for if you found a chrysalis outdoors?
A safe observation rule
Look closely, but do not pull a chrysalis from its support or touch a newly emerged butterfly's wings. Observe from a little distance and let the animal complete its work.