Butterflies

Butterflies are some of the most interesting insects on the planet Earth. There are more than seventeen thousand different kinds of butterflies! Butterflies come in all shapes and sizes.

Butterflies go through four main stages of life. The first stage is the egg stage followed by the pupa stage. As a pupa, or caterpillar, the future butterfly eats as much as possible. As it grows, it sheds it outer skin, or exoskeleton. This may happen four or five times. After a few weeks, the caterpillar enters the next stage of its life, the chrysalis stage. In the chrysalis, the caterpillar will liquefy into a soup of living cells. Then, it will reorganize into a butterfly and the metamorphosis is complete. In later parts of the chrysalis stage, you can see the forming butterfly through the chrysalis.

When the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, it pumps its wings to send blood through them so that it can fly. Most butterflies only live a couple of weeks, just enough time to drink flower nectar and to mate. Some, like the Monarch Butterfly, however, may live many months.

Which is true?
1. There are about a thousand different kinds of butterflies in the world.
2. There are less than a thousand different kinds of butterflies in the world.
3. There are more than a thousand different kinds of butterflies in the world.
4. There is only one kind of butterfly in the world.
How many stages of life does a butterfly go through?
What is the second stage of life for a butterfly?
1. egg
2. pupa
3. chrysalis
4. butterfly
What is the third stage of life for a butterfly?
1. egg
2. pupa
3. chrysalis
4. butterfly
Why does the butterfly shed its skin?
1. The butterfly is coming.
2. It is hungry
3. It is growing
4. To defend itself against predators
In what stage does the metamorphosis happen?
1. egg
2. caterpillar
3. chrysalis
4. butterfly
Select ALL of the things that a butterfly does.
1. drink nectar from flowers
2. go through metamorphosis
3. mates
4. lays eggs
Which of the following is NOT true?
1. The butterfly may shed its skin 8 or 9 times
2. Most butterflies live a short time
3. Caterpillars turn into a liquid in the chrysalis
4. Butterflies must wait until blood drains into their wings before flying.