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Primary Science · Year 5Chapter 2 · Life cycles of animals
Year 5 Science · Life cycles of animals · Lesson 2.4

Year 5 Science: Life cycle of an insect

Part of the Year 5 Science life cycles of animals chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

2.4

Life cycle of an insect

Year 5
LH1: the life cycle of an insect, such as a butterfly, including complete change of shape
Story. Ruby sees a caterpillar eating a leaf in the school garden. Her grandad says: “In a few weeks it will rest in a case, and then it will come out as a butterfly.” Ruby cannot believe it.

A butterfly is an insect. Insects have six legs, and their bodies have three main parts.

A butterfly lays its eggs on a leaf. The egg hatches into a caterpillar, which eats leaves and grows. The caterpillar then forms a chrysalis, a case where it rests and changes shape. The adult butterfly comes out of the chrysalis.

The adult looks very different from the caterpillar. The change of shape is called metamorphosis.

Insect (butterfly)eggon a leafcaterpillareatschrysalisrestsadult butterflythe life cycle goes round
The life cycle of a butterfly: egg on a leaf, caterpillar that eats, chrysalis that rests, and an adult butterfly.

Key ideas

  • Insects have six legs and three main body parts.
  • A butterfly lays its eggs on a leaf.
  • The caterpillar eats leaves and grows.
  • In the chrysalis the caterpillar changes shape, and an adult butterfly comes out.
Worked example 2.4.1
Look at the insect life cycle in section 2.4. What stage comes after the caterpillar? Write the word.

Method. Read the pictures in order.

  1. Read the stages. The stages are egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult butterfly.
    caterpillar, chrysalis
  2. Name the next stage. The stage after the caterpillar is the chrysalis.
    chrysalis
  3. Write the answer.
    chrysalis

Check. In the chrysalis the caterpillar changes shape. ✓

Worked example 2.4.2
How many legs does an insect have? Write the number.

Method. Think about the features of insects.

  1. Think about the features. Insects have six legs.
    six legs
  2. Write the number. So the answer is six.
    6
  3. Write the answer.
    6

Check. Spiders have eight legs, so they are not insects. ✓

Worked example 2.4.3
Does a butterfly lay its eggs on a leaf? Write yes or no.

Method. Read the description of the life cycle.

  1. Read the description. A butterfly lays its eggs on a leaf.
    on a leaf
  2. Decide. So the answer is yes.
    yes
  3. Write the answer.
    yes

Check. The caterpillar hatches on the leaf, and eats it. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a caterpillar is not a different kind of animal from the butterfly. It is the young stage of the same butterfly, and it changes shape.

Try it (with your teacher or a grown-up). With your teacher, look for a caterpillar or a chrysalis on a plant in the school garden. Do not pick it up. Draw the leaf and the caterpillar, and write one thing you notice. Wash your hands after you go outside.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask: “What does the caterpillar eat? What happens in the chrysalis?” Let your child count the legs on a picture of an insect.

Exercise 2D  Life cycle of an insect

1
FWhere does a butterfly lay its eggs? Write the word: leaf or pond.
2
FWhat does a caterpillar mostly eat? Write one word.
3
FWhat is the name of the stage in which a caterpillar rests and changes shape? Write the word.
4
FHow many legs does an insect have? Write the number.
5
FHow many main body parts does an insect have? Write the number.
6
FHow many stages are shown in the insect life cycle in section 2.4? Write the number.
7
FWhich stage of the butterfly life cycle is the adult? Write the words.
8
FDoes an adult butterfly look like its caterpillar? Write yes or no.
9
PSRuby says a spider is an insect. Is she right? Write yes or no.
10
PSWhich stage comes before the caterpillar in the butterfly life cycle? Write the word.
11
PSWorking scientifically. Observe and describe. Write the word for the young stage of an insect that eats leaves and looks different from the adult.
12
RExplain why a caterpillar looks different from the adult butterfly. Write one sentence.

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