Free Printable: Life Cycle of a Butterfly

This week’s Freebie Friday features the Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly. I’m experimenting with the fun and glittery illustrations made by Glitter Meets Glue Designs. The blacklines are realistic, and the colored illustrations are glittery. I’m curious to see how the students respond to this new style in the classroom. Scroll down for details about how to get this printable.

Be sure to check out these posts for hands-on activities for your butterfly unit:

Butterflies are a beloved subject for many young children, and the monarch butterfly in particular is a fascinating creature to study. With its bright orange and black wings, the monarch is a familiar sight in gardens and fields during the summer months. The life cycle of a butterfly and the process of metamorphosis is a fascinating and intriguing concept that can spark children’s curiosity and wonder.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Monarch Butterflies

The monarch butterfly life cycle is a four-stage process that begins with the egg and ends with the adult butterfly. Each stage is unique and provides opportunities for children to learn about the different aspects of the butterfly’s development.

Egg Stage: The Beginning of the Butterfly Life Cycle

The first stage of the monarch butterfly life cycle is the egg stage. Adult female monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves of milkweed plants. The eggs are small, round, and white in color. They hatch after a few days into a tiny larva, or caterpillar.

Caterpillar Stage: Growing and Changing

The second stage of the butterfly life cycle is the caterpillar or larva stage. The newly hatched caterpillar is about the size of a grain of rice and it is black and yellow striped. As it eats and grows, it will moult its skin four times, growing larger each time. This stage lasts about two weeks and it’s the caterpillar’s main task is to eat as much as possible in order to grow.

Chrysalis Stage: Metamorphosis

The third stage of the butterfly life cycle is the chrysalis or pupa stage. Once the caterpillar has reached its full size, it will attach itself to a twig or a leaf and forms a chrysalis around itself. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis, changing into an adult butterfly. This stage lasts about two weeks.

Adult Stage: The Final Transformation

The final stage of the butterfly life cycle is the adult stage. After about two weeks, the adult monarch butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, ready to fly and mate. The adult butterfly has a wingspan of about 4 inches, and its wings are orange and black with white spots. This stage lasts around 2-6 weeks, during this time the adult butterfly will fly, mate and lay eggs.

It’s important to note that the life cycle of the monarch butterfly is closely tied to the growth cycle of the milkweed plant, which is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can eat.

Fun facts about Monarch Butterflies for Kids:

Monarchs are known for their bright orange and black wings, which are a warning to predators that they are toxic to eat.
Monarchs are one of the few insects that migrate, traveling thousands of miles each year from the United States and Canada to their wintering grounds in Mexico.
Monarchs are pollinators and are known for helping to pollinate wildflowers and garden plants.
Milkweeds are the only plants that monarch caterpillars can eat.

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As you explore the butterfly life cycle with your students, use our free download to learn the names and sequence of the various stages with the 3-part cards the sorting mat. The printable includes color and black line images.

How To Get This Printable

I’ve added this printable to the Resource Library so head over there if you’d like to download a copy for yourself. The Library is a free resource for our newsletter subscribers. If you’re already a subscriber, your password is in the most recent newsletter. If you’re not a subscriber yet, please sign up below. The password will be included in your welcome email after you confirm. Thank you very much for joining me!