Life Cycles — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A butterfly lays its tiny eggs on a leaf.
Butterflies pick leaves because the caterpillars will eat them after hatching. The leaf works as both a safe spot for the eggs and the caterpillar's first meal.
2. A caterpillar is also called a larva.
Larva is the science word for the baby stage of many insects, and a caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly. It spends this stage eating and growing bigger.
3. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar changes into a butterfly.
Inside the chrysalis the caterpillar's body reshapes itself, growing wings and long legs. When the change is done, a butterfly breaks out.
4. A chicken egg needs warmth to hatch.
A chick can only grow inside the egg when the temperature stays warm. That is why a hen sits on her eggs day after day.
5. A chick grows bigger feathers to replace its soft down.
Soft down keeps a newborn chick warm but is not tough enough for an adult bird. Bigger adult feathers grow in and replace the down as the chick gets older.
6. Butterflies drink nectar from flowers.
Flowers make a sweet liquid called nectar, and butterflies sip it with their long tongues. The nectar gives them the energy they need to fly.
7. A hen can lay one egg almost every day.
A healthy hen's body makes a new egg inside her about every 24 hours. That is why she can lay roughly one egg each day.
8. The chrysalis stage is also called the pupa stage.
Pupa is the science name for the resting stage when an insect's body changes shape. A butterfly's pupa is wrapped in a case called a chrysalis.
9. Both butterflies and chickens start their life cycles as eggs.
Butterflies lay tiny eggs on leaves and chickens lay eggs in nests, so both begin life inside an egg. The eggs look different but they play the same starting role.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
caterpillar
→ eats leaves and grows quickly
lays eggs to start a new cycle
chrysalis
→ stage where a big change happens inside
eats leaves and grows quickly
chick
→ hatches from a hard-shelled egg
hatches from a hard-shelled egg
hen
→ lays eggs to start a new cycle
stage where a big change happens inside
Each clue describes what that stage does: caterpillars munch leaves to grow, the chrysalis hides the big butterfly change, a chick hatches from a hard shell, and a hen lays the eggs that begin the next cycle.