Animal Life
Cycles
Ms. Arbree
Animals That Grow Up
Most animals including fish, mammals,
reptiles and birds have a very simple life
cycle.
They are born live or hatched from
eggs. Then they grow up.
There are three stages to their life
cycle: before birth/newborn, young and
adult.
Ms. Arbree
Florida Panther: Simple Life
Cycle
Newborn Young
Adult
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Amphibians
Amphibians like frogs and newts go through a different life
cycle. They undergo a metamorphosis or the transformation
from egg to adult.
• They are born (either alive from their mother or hatched
from eggs)
• They spend their childhood under water, breathing with
gills
• They grow into adults and move to the land, breathing with
lungs
Ms. Arbree
Life Cycle of a Frog
Frogs have four stages in their life: Eggs, Tadpole,
Metamorph, and Frog.
Egg: This is the first stage of the life cycle. A frog
lays several thousand at one time. They are
covered in a jelly coating. Eggs are laid in water or
a wet place. A big clump of eggs is called a frog
spawn. Since the clump is so big not many
creatures will eat them. The eggs will hatch after
21 days.
Ms. Arbree
Life Cycle of a Frog
Click
here to
see the
eggs
hatch!
Ms. Arbree
Life Cycle of a Frog
Tadpole: After the 21 day period
the embryo leaves the egg and
attaches to a weed in the water
where it quickly becomes a
tadpole. The tadpole has a tail
and gills.
Ms. Arbree
Life Cycle of a Frog
Ms. Arbree
The tadpole begins to
change…
• After about five weeks the change begins.
• It starts to grow hind legs, which are soon followed with
front legs.
• Their tails become smaller and lungs begin to develop,
preparing the frog for its life on land.
• Occasionally they wiggle to the surface to breathe in air.
• The tail becomes larger and makes it now possible for the
tadpole to swim around and catch food.
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The tadpole begins to
change…
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The Frog!
• Eleven weeks after the egg was laid, a fully
developed frog with lungs, legs, and no tail
emerges from the water.
• This frog will live mostly on land, with
occasional swims. The tiny frogs begin to
eat insects and worms. Eventually, it will
find a mate and the whole process begins
again.
Ms. Arbree
The Frog!
The Full Cycle!
Ms. Arbree
Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Like frogs, butterflies have a four stage life cycle:
egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult.
Egg: The eggs are laid on the leaves of plants. The
coolest thing about butterfly eggs is that if you look
close enough at them you can actually see the
caterpillar growing inside.
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Butterfly Eggs
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The second stage: larvae
• When the egg finally hatches a larvae emerges. A larvae is
another name for caterpillar.
• Caterpillars do not stay in this phase for that long. Mostly all
they do during this time is eat. In fact, as soon as they
hatch they eat the leaf they were born on.
• Caterpillars need to eat and eat so they can grow quickly.
When a caterpillar is born, they are extremely small. When
they start eating, they instantly start growing and
expanding. Their exoskeleton (skin) does not stretch or
grow, so they grow by “molting” (sheding the outgrown skin)
several times while it grows.
Ms. Arbree
The second stage: larvae
Click here to
see a
caterpillar
hatch!
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The third stage: pupa
(chrysalis)
• The pupa stage is one of the coolest stages of a
butterfly’s life.
• As soon as a caterpillar is done growing and
they have reached their full length/weight, they
form themselves into a pupa, also known as a
chrysalis.
• From the outside of the pupa, it looks as if the
caterpillar may just be resting, but the inside is
where all of the action is. Inside of the pupa, the
caterpillar is rapidly changing.
Ms. Arbree
The third stage: pupa
(chrysalis)
Click here to see a caterpillar turn into a chrysalis! Ms. Arbree
The fourth stage: adult butterfly
• By the time the pupa has finished the tissue, limbs
and organs of the caterpillar have all changed.
• When it emerges it is a butterfly. Their wings are
soft and folded against their body.
• After about 3-4 hours the butterfly will flap its
wings and master flying.
• Butterflies will then immediately start looking for a
mate and the process will start all over again!
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The fourth stage: adult butterfly
Click here to see a butterfly emerge! Ms. Arbree
The full cycle!
Ms. Arbree
What have we learned?
Using the information we just
learned about panthers, frogs and
butterflies can you identify a
similarity between the three?
Difference?
Ms. Arbree
Life Cycle Mobile
1. Punch holes into your top portion(big half sheet)
2. Draw and label each life cycle. The front should have
the name of the stage, and a picture with color.
3. The back should have 2 facts about the stage.
4. You will have 5 pieces for EACH lifecycle. The title and
then the 4 stages.
5. When you have finished ALL of them, get checked by
Ms. A and begin putting it together.
Ms. Arbree
