Insect

Butterfly Life Cycle

A butterfly starts its life in the form of an egg. The female butterfly
lays her eggs on a leaf. The eggs hatch. But the young ones don't look
like butterflies! We don't even call them butterflies.

We call the new "baby" a larva. Many people call it a caterpillar.

Caterpillars look more like worms. They have long plump bodies. Their
bodies have lots of segments
or parts. They have six legs.
The legs are all grouped near
Butterfly
the front of their bodies.
Lifecycle Caterpillars must eat, eat, and
eat all the time! They eat the
leaf where the eggs were.
Then they eat more leaves.
They grow fast. Their skin
doesn't grow with them. They must shed the old skin and grow new skin to
fit their bigger bodies. This is called molting. Caterpillars molt four or five
times. Then they move on to the next part of their life cycle.

When a caterpillar reaches its full size, it turns into a pupa. Each
caterpillar will fasten itself to a twig. It forms a case to hide in. The case is
called a cocoon or chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, the pupa does not eat
at all. It is busy changing. When the change is complete, it doesn't look at
all like it did before. The pupa has changed into a butterfly!

1. How many parts are there in a butterfly's life cycle?

A. two C. one
B. four D. three

2. Each butterfly starts out as an ______.

3. A ______ hatches out of the egg.
A. pupa C. butterfly
B. caterpillar

4. What is a pupa's hard case called?

A. cocoon
B. chrysalis C. both A and B

5. When caterpillars shed their old skin and grow new skin it is called
__________.

6. List the four parts of a butterfly's life cycle here.

i. ______________________
ii. ______________________
iii. ______________________
iv. ______________________

7. Why caterpillar grow very fast?

It grows very fast because _______________________________
___________________________.