Life Cycles

As part of our study of monarch butterflies, we have been learning about their life cycle. Butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis, which means they have a resting period or pupa stage. Other insects undergo incomplete metamorphosis, like dragonflies whose nymphs break out of their cases with wings intact and ready to fly.

This week the kids made cut paper representations of the monarch butterfly's life cycle. All kids included the four main stages: egg, caterpillar (larva), chrysalis (pupa) and adult butterfly.  Some kids tried to include some of the transitions betweens stages. For example, how caterpillars hang in "J shape" just before the chrysalis stage. Others wanted to show how the chrysalis goes from its bright green with gold to looking black as it becomes transparent. Many kids showed the milkweed plant that plays host to the larva and some even showed a hatchling caterpillar with a dark head and whitish body - very different from the vibrant stripes it grows into!

Enjoy the pictures below of their work. We were very pleased with the knowledge they demonstrated!