Created By:

Jessica Mason-Stutzman
Table of Contents
QCC -15 Topic: The Living World: Animals Standard: Recognizes and describes a variety of animal and
plant life cycles. Illustrates the life cycles of a chicken, butterfly, frog, turtle, grasshopper, dog and
fish.
Performance Standard Life Science S3L1. Students will investigate the habitats of different
organisms and the dependence of organisms on their habitats.
C. Identify features of animals that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia.
D. Explain what will happen to an organisms if the habitat is changed.

What is a butterfly?
Habitats
Body parts of a butterfly
Monarch
Butterfly life cycle
Activity create a chrysalis!
Video of the life cycle
More games and activities from
What happens in each stage of the life cycle?
the web!
The egg
The caterpillar
Monarch Butterfly Life cycle
Pupation video
Graph how much time is spent in each
The butterfly step of the cycle?
Sequencing
Monarch Butterfly Life cycle Activity make a comic strip.
Graph how much time is spent in each step Habitats
of the cycle? Monarch
Sequencing Activity create a chrysalis!
Activity make a comic strip. Web Quest!
What is a Butterfly?
Butterflies are beautiful, flying insects
with large scaly wings. Like all insects,
they have six jointed legs, 3 body parts,
a pair of antennae, compound eyes,
and an exoskeleton. The three body
parts are the head, thorax (the chest),
and abdomen (the tail end).
The butterfly's body is covered by tiny
sensory hairs. The four wings and the
six legs of the butterfly are attached to
the thorax. The thorax contains the
muscles that make the legs and wings
move.

Abdomen
Abdomen - The abdomen is the segmented tail area
of an insect that contains the heart, Malpighian
tubules, reproductive organs, and most of the
digestive system.
Antenna - An antenna is a sensory appendage that
Antenna
is attached to the head of adult insects. Antennae
are used for the sense of smell and balance.
Butterflies have two antennae with clubs at the end.
Compound Eye - Insect compound eyes are made
Compound Eye
up of many hexagonal lenses.
Fore wing - The fore wings are the two upper wings.
Forewing
Head
Head - The head is the part of the insect that
contains the brain, two compound eyes, the
proboscis, and the pharynx (the start of the
digestive system). The two antennae are attached
to the head.
Hind wing
Hind wing - The hind wings are the two lower
wings.
Leg - All adult butterflies have six legs. The two
forelegs of some butterfly species are tiny.
Proboscis
Proboscis - Adult butterflies sip nectar and other
liquids using a spiral, straw-like proboscis
located on their head.
Thorax - The thorax is the body section between
the head and the abdomen. The legs and wings
attach to the thorax.
Butterfly Life-Cycle

EGG PUPA

ADULT LARVAE
Watch the Life Cycle Slide Show
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.
The caterpillar is also called the larva. 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. They usually molt 5 times. After a few weeks
the caterpillar stops eating and growing and looks for a
place to change.
The caterpillar sheds its skin for the last time and
becomes a pupa. The pupa stays inside a hard
shell called a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, the
pupa is changing from a caterpillar's body to a
butterfly's body.
Pupation
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!
 n g
c i
en
qu Students investigated

Se butterfly life cycles.

Students read text on life
cycles.
Students created a comic
strip describing each phase of
a butterflys life cycle.
Students added noodles for
visual effect.
Fill in the table to show what happens
during each stage.
Egg Larvae Pupa Adult
Emerges from
Laid on plant Caterpillar shed
Eats its the chrysalis
leaves and its skin one
egg shell after a few
stems last time
weeks

The butterfly
Caterpillar Caterpillar stays
looks for a
hatches inside
Molts 5 times a hard shell mate and
in 5 days
or Chrysalis lays eggs

After a few Caterpillar

Adult butterflies
Vary in size weeks looks changes
live for only
for a place into a butterfly
2 weeks
to change
 HABITAT
Butterflies are found all over the world and in
all types of environments: hot and cold, dry
and moist, at sea level and high in the
mountains. Most butterfly species, however,
are found in tropical areas, especially tropical
rainforests.

Many butterflies migrate in order to avoid

adverse environmental conditions (like cold
weather). Butterfly migration is not well
understood. Most migrate relatively short
distances (like the Painted Lady, the Red
Admiral, and the Common Buckeye), but a few
(like some Monarchs) migrate thousands of
miles.
Monarch Habitats:
Monarchs are found all around the world
in sub-tropical to tropical areas. They are found
in open habitats including meadows, fields,
marshes, and cleared roadsides.
Create a Chrysalis and watch your
caterpillar change into a beautiful
Butterfly!

Activity
You will be responsible to complete
the activities on the web Quest for
Monarch Butterflies.

Web Quest