Make a model of a butterfly’s life cycle

We love to look at butterflies because of their beauty and colors, but you can also enjoy a close look at the lives of butterflies.

They contribute to the health of our planet. While feeding on nectar, they also pollinate many types of flowers. The flowers they tend to choose are brightly colored, grow in clusters, stay open during the day and have flat surfaces that serve as landing pads. Butterflies are also an important food source for birds, small animals and other insects.

The four stages of the butterfly life cycle are the egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis) and the adult butterfly. Create a fun model of the life cycle using things you have available at home!

What you’ll need:

• Paper plate

• Glue

• Marker or Pen

• Scissors

• Household items to represent the different stages of a butterfly's life cycle

1. To start, use your creativity to decide what you will use to represent the different stages of a butterfly's life. For the egg stage, you could use small items like grains of rice or beads. For the caterpillar stage, you could use rotini pasta, a pipe cleaner or pompoms. To represent the chrysalis stage, shell pasta or tissue paper twisted into a chrysalis shape could work. Finally, choose an item to represent a butterfly — like bow tie pasta, pipe cleaners or ribbon!

2. Using a marker or pen, divide your plate into 4 equal parts. Label each of the four sections (moving clockwise around your plate): Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Butterfly. Draw arrows showing the flow of the life cycle moving clockwise around the plate.

3. Lay out and glue down your items in each section of the plate.

Lesson modified from Minnesota 4-H, University of Minnesota Extension. To get your child involved in fun learning opportunities, check out Clover Kids (grades K-3), 4-H (grades 4-12), Lego Teams, and hands-on educational kits for checkout at extension.iastate.edu/linn/4h. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Linn County helps build a strong Iowa by engaging Iowans in research, education, and extension experiences to address current and emerging real-life challenges. The 4-H Youth Development program empowers youth to reach their full potential through youth-adult partnerships and research-based experiences. Linn County Extension Office website: www.extension.iastate.edu/linn