Transcript Life Cycle of a Butterfly - Ponsbourne St. Mary's Church

Life Cycle of a Butterfly
What a lovely butterfly!
Butterflies go through four life stages, and they look
very different at each stage
• 1. An adult butterfly lays eggs.
• 2. A caterpillar hatches out of the egg.
• 3. The caterpillar forms a chrysalis or pupa.
• 4. The chrysalis matures into a butterfly.
Stage 1- Eggs
• The adult mother
butterfly lays a
number of eggs on
the leaves of plants
which she
recognises by smell.
• She knows the
leaves will be good
for the baby
caterpillar to eat.
Hatching
• When the caterpillar is
ready to hatch, it chews
a hole in the shell so
that it can wriggle out
of the egg.
• The tiny caterpillar
starts to eat straight
away.
• Have you read the story
of the hungry
caterpillar?
• All caterpillars eat and
eat all day.
Caterpillars
• A caterpillar eats so
much it grows
bigger and bigger
until it grows too fat
for its skin.
• Caterpillars shed
their skin at least
five times as they
grow.
Stage Three - Chrysalis
• When the caterpillar is
fully grown it is time to
become a chrysalis.
• First it finds a safe
place.
• Then it changes colour
and grows thinner.
• It sheds its skin.
• This time inside the
skin it has become a
chrysalis or pupa.
Stage Four - A New Butterfly
• When it is ready the
new butterfly
struggles out of its
chrysalis.
• It spreads its wings
and holds them
open to dry and
harden.
• Soon it is ready to
fly away.