The Lifecycle of a
Monarch Butterfly
Human Lifecycle
Baby
Child
Adult
Adolescent
Pair and Share
• Can you describe the stages of your life?
• What do you know about the stages of a
butterfly’s life?
Butterfly Life Stages
Egg
• The egg is attached to leaves, stems, or other
objects.
• It is the size of a
pencil point.
Larva
• The caterpillar stage!
• As it eats leaves and grows, the caterpillar sheds
its skin four or more times.
Pupa
• The cocoon starts
out a light green
color with gold spots.
• When it becomes
clear, we can begin
to see the wings of
the butterfly.
Adult
• Before the adult can fly, it’s wings must be dry
and strong.
• They only live
for a short time.
They lay eggs
and the cycle
starts again.
Let’s Watch!
Butterfly Poem
A mama butterfly lays all her eggs,
Out pops a caterpillar, crawling on its legs.
The caterpillar first is rather thin,
But then it eats till it bursts through its skin.
After growing nice and big,
The caterpillar climbs on a leaf or twig.
It makes a shell where it hangs inside.
The shell then cracks, and the parts divide.
Inside the shell, a change was going on,
The form of the caterpillar now is gone.
When the shell opens, what comes out?
A beautiful butterfly fluttering about!
Butterfly Poem
A mama butterfly lays all her eggs,
Out pops a caterpillar, crawling on its legs.
The caterpillar first is rather thin,
But then it eats till it bursts through its skin.
After growing nice and big,
The caterpillar climbs on a leaf or twig.
It makes a shell where it hangs inside.
The shell then cracks, and the parts divide.
Inside the shell, a change was going on,
The form of the caterpillar now is gone.
When the shell opens, what comes out?
A beautiful butterfly fluttering about!
Butterfly Poem
A mama butterfly lays all her eggs,
Out pops a caterpillar, crawling on its legs.
The caterpillar first is rather thin,
But then it eats till it bursts through its skin.
After growing nice and big,
The caterpillar climbs on a leaf or twig.
It makes a shell where it hangs inside.
The shell then cracks, and the parts divide.
Inside the shell, a change was going on,
The form of the caterpillar now is gone.
When the shell opens, what comes out?
A beautiful butterfly fluttering about!
Butterfly Poem
A mama butterfly lays all her eggs,
Out pops a caterpillar, crawling on its legs.
The caterpillar first is rather thin,
But then it eats till it bursts through its skin.
After growing nice and big,
The caterpillar climbs on a leaf or twig.
It makes a shell where it hangs inside.
The shell then cracks, and the parts divide.
Inside the shell, a change was going on,
The form of the caterpillar now is gone.
When the shell opens, what comes out?
A beautiful butterfly fluttering about!
Butterfly Poem
A mama butterfly lays all her eggs,
Out pops a caterpillar, crawling on its legs.
The caterpillar first is rather thin,
But then it eats till it bursts through its skin.
After growing nice and big,
The caterpillar climbs on a leaf or twig.
It makes a shell where it hangs inside.
The shell then cracks, and the parts divide.
Inside the shell, a change was going on,
The form of the caterpillar now is gone.
When the shell opens, what comes out?
A beautiful butterfly fluttering about!