Background

Objectives

Students will plant a butterfly garden and learn about the life cycle of a butterfly.

Materials

Plants to start your butterfly garden: butterfly bush (Buddleia), milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), California fuschia (Epilobium), Penstamon etc.

Season

Spring

Group Size

Whole Class

California State
Content Standards

L.S. 2.b

Butterflies have a 4-stage life cycle. The adult lays the egg. Eggs have to become a larva (the caterpillar). The larva creates a chrysalis. This is called the pupa. The chrysalis hatches into the adult (the butterfly). A chrysalis is the casing made by a butterfly and a moth makes a cocoon.

When planting flowers to attract butterflies, you can look on the Internet for information about the plants that can be used to attract certain species of butterflies in your area. Buddleia (butterfly bush) is a very popular plant used to attract butterflies. A mostly sunny place that is protected from the wind is the ideal area to plant the flowers.

Vocabulary

Metamorphosis: a change

Attention Grabber

Read the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle to your students.

Garden Activity

Part 1- The Game

Use a pictorial to illustrate the life cycle of a butterfly.
Play the game “metamorphosis” with the students.
This game uses the rules of rock, paper, and scissors to help determine the winner of each round.
All students start out as an egg. They find a partner.
The teacher says, “go” and the student will play rock, paper, scissor. The winner becomes a larva.
They need to find another larva and they play. The winner of that round becomes a chrysalis.
Two students that are chrysalis play and the winner becomes a butterfly.
For each new life stage, have the students make a different body motion to help them remember each stage. It also helps the students find another partner.

Part 2- Butterfly Garden

Plant the butterfly garden flowers in the garden or in individual pots for the students to take home.

Wrap Up

Have students review the stages of the butterfly life cycle. How do these butterflies help the plants in the garden? They are pollinators.

What's Next?

Raise butterflies in the classroom.
After the flowers have been planted, have students observe the butterflies and look for evidence of the different stages of their life cycle.
During the wetter months, have students look for salamanders in the garden. You can play the game again using the life cycle of the salamander this time.