A butterfly's life is a cycle — a loop that starts again and again. It goes through four stages, and at each one it looks totally different. This amazing change is called metamorphosis.
The grown-up butterfly lays eggs, and the whole journey begins all over again — round and round, forever.
Trace the loop below as you read each card. The butterfly lays an egg, which hatches into a hungry caterpillar, which forms a chrysalis, and finally a butterfly comes out — ready to start again!
| Stage | What happens | Where? |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | laid by the mother butterfly | on a leaf |
| Caterpillar | eats leaves and grows fast | on the plant |
| Chrysalis | changes shape inside a case | hanging still |
| Butterfly | flies off and lays new eggs | in the air |
⭐ Tap each yellow box to reveal the answer — tap again to hide.
Scientists use special names for the butterfly's stages. The trickiest pair is larva and pupa — remember: the larva is the caterpillar that eats, and the pupa is the chrysalis where it changes.
As butterflies drink sweet nectar from flowers, they carry pollen from flower to flower. This is called pollination, and it helps plants make seeds and fruit. No butterflies and bees would mean far fewer flowers!