Butterfly Life Cycle

Mr. Gemmar S. Tubale

Life cycle is a period in the life of an animal from time it becomes a
fertilized egg up to reproduction and death.
 Life Cycle of a Butterfly

• Metamorphosis is another word for

change.
• The stages in the life cycle of butterfly are
egg, larva, pupa and adult.
 Laying Butterfly Eggs
• The very first stage of a butterfly life
cycle begins with the eggs that the
butterfly lays.
• The average number of reported
eggs that a butterfly will lay is
about 700.
• They only lay one egg at a time, but
they can lay many egg in a single
day.
• The eggs are about the size
of a pinhead.
• The butterflies lay their eggs on
the bottom of leaves where
they will be protected.
 Stage One: The Egg

 The female butterfly will lay

her eggs under a protective
leaf that later will become her
baby’s first meal.
 The butterfly eggs will take about two to
three weeks to hatch.

 When the butterfly egg hatches, a

caterpillar also known as, a larva will come
out.
 A caterpillar hatches through the egg by
waving its head back and forth pulling its
body out slowly.
Stage Two: The Larva

• Caterpillars or larva are very tiny and are

usually a pale green color when they
first hatch.

• They have strong jaws for chewing

leaves:
- Their own egg, is the
caterpillars first meal.
- After they eat their egg, they
will eat the leaf that their mother had laid
them on.

• The caterpillar will eat about thirty or

more leaves, and grow 3000 times its
original size, before the next stage of its
life cycle.
 Stage Three: The Pupa
The caterpillar will:

• Find a safe strong spot, like a

leaf or twig, to hang from.

• Start squirting silk, moving

from side, creating a silk mat
with a tiny knob called a
button after shedding its skin
for the last time.
• A hard case called the
chrysalis forms around the
caterpillar for protection while
it is preparing to become a
butterfly.
Stage Four: The Chrysalis

• Inside the chrysalis the

caterpillar or pupa, becomes a
green liquid.

• The green liquid begins to form

butterfly parts and the chrysalis
becomes more clear.

• A fully clear chrysalis means

a butterfly is ready to
emerge : come out.

• About three weeks later the

chrysalis splits, and the butterfly
can make its way out.
• Now the butterfly is free to travel by air.
• The butterfly will drink nectar, instead of chewing leaves.
• BAD NEWS: The average butterfly will only live for about two weeks.
• GOOD NEWS: Before the butterfly dies it will lay new eggs, out will come new
caterpillars, and eventually,

NEW BUTTERFLIES
Vocabulary words
1. twig – is a small thin
terminal branch of a
woody plant.
2. Nectar – is a sugar-rich
liquid produced by
plants.
3. Emerge – come out
4. Metamorphosis – is
another word for
change.
Group activity:

Write the life cycle of a

butterfly. (3 minutes)
Write the stages of the following pictures on your notebook. Put 1 – 5 on the
blank.
_________ a. ____________ b.

__________ c. ____________ d.

___________ e.
Answer:
a. 2
b. 5
c. 1
d. 3
e. 4
Assignment:

Answer the question briefly:

Compare the caterpillar and the
pupa.