Activities
1. You can create the lifecycle of the butterfly with pasta!
2. Butterflies have beautiful color! You can make your own unique butterfly with coffee filters.
3. Butterflies that are native to your area need certain plants to live. With permission from an adult, check out what plants are native to your area! Ask if you can plant a couple in your flower beds or garden this summer.
Why do caterpillars turn into butterflies? How do they make a cocoon and what happens inside of it? And why do some butterflies have such pretty wings?
Fun Facts About Butterflies
- Butterflies lay hundreds of eggs in their lifetime, but only a few of them actually grow up to become butterflies.
- Caterpillars grow from the size of a grain of quinoa to around 2-inches long, which is a little longer than a AA battery.
- Most butterfly species emerge from their cocoons in about 1-2 weeks. Although, some species remain pupae for months, and a few species will remain in their cocoons for up to 2 years!
- Butterflies have scales on their wings that have a sharp edge. When they fly they actually cut the air, like a knife slicing butter.
- Monarch butterflies, the orange and black ones you see a lot, can sometimes live for months. And, the yellowish Brimstone Butterfly can live a little more than a year!
- Butterflies snooze hanging upside-down under leaves.
Things You Will Learn
- How long are caterpillars that turn into butterflies in an egg?
- How many stages to caterpillars go through?
- .What is Metamorphosis?
Listen to the short Who Smarted? episode for kids about Butterflies for free here!
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