Butterflies are one of the most popular insects with children and kids of all ages love to watch and learn about butterflies.
These butterfly activities for kids are perfect for exploring what butterflies like to eat, the life cycle of a butterfly, and identifying different types of butterflies.
Read on for lots of butterfly facts kids will be fasdcinated by, and 7 fun activities they will love to do.
Beautiful butterflies are fascinating to watch as they flutter around in the garden or park.
Your kids will love doing these butterfly activities at home or on the go!
What is a Butterfly?
Butterflies are insects, which means that they have six legs, a set of antennae, and three body segments or parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen).
Most butterflies are herbivores and only eat plants and leaves.
Butterflies do not have any lips or teeth. Instead they use their proboscis, a kind of long tongue, as a straw to drink with.
Unlike caterpillars, adult butterflies can only consume liquid, so they eat the nectar from flowers, and in some cases pollen, tree sap and even rotting fruit.
They also drink from patches of rain or dew on leaves.
Because they fly from flower to flower, butterflies are important pollinators for some plant species.
Butterflies come in a large variety of shapes and sizes, and have evolved to have a unique life cycle.
Butterflies have been around for over 56 million years.
Metamorphosis
Part of our fascination with butterflies stems from their metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly.
This total transformation takes them from small grub to a beautiful adult butterfly with large brighyl coloured and patterned wings in a short period of time.
This amazing change is endlessly fascinating to both children and adults.
What is the Life Cycle of a Butterfly?
The butterfly life cycle has four different stages: egg, larvae, pupa and adult.
The butterfly lays its eggs on a plant that its caterpillars will begin to eat once they hatch.
Next the butterfly larva emerges from the egg as a caterpillar.
Caterpillars are commonly spotted on plants and trees in the countryside and in our gardens.
They grow very quickly and eat a huge amount in proportion to their size.
In the third stage of the life cycle, the caterpillar creates a cocoon and becomes a chrysalis.
The caterpillar will spend several days, or even weeks, inside this chrysalis, until it is completely ready to emerge as a fully-formed butterfly.
Once emerged, the butterfly will sit for a while until its wings have dried off, then it is ready to fly away.
Some species, such as Monarch butterflies, even migrate.
They travel so far that one butterfly is unable to complete the whole journey during its lifetime.
It takes multiple generations of butterflies to reach the final destination of the migration.
How Long do Butterflies Live?
On average, most adult butterflies only live for 15 to 29 days, although this varies between species.
Smaller butterfly species may only live for a few days, while larger species may live for up to six weeks.
Butterflies protect themselves using camouflage and mimicry.
Butterflies face many predators, but their wing patterns have adapted to provide camouflage in their surroundings, and they can often hide on plants or fly away when facing danger.
The wing patterns of some species even mimic their predators' colouring, such as owls' feather patterns.
Butterfly Facts
Butterflies are known for their beautiful colours and unique patterns.
Our endless fascination with them has inspired countless songs, stories and pieces of art, and continues to inspire our young learners today.
Through camouflage and mimicry, butterflies have found ways to survive and thrive in many different habitats.
Did you know there are approximately 17,500 butterfly species worldwide, including 59 species in the UK and around 750 in the United States?
In fact, there are butterflies on all continents on earth, excluding Antarctica.
Butterfly Activities for Kids
Encourage your child's interest in butterflies with fun activities you can have ready at home or when you are out and about in nature.
Here are 7 of our favourite fun butterfly activities for kids:
1. Make a Butterfly Feeder
A butterfly feeder is a great way to attract butterflies to your garden or yard.
All you need is a clean plastic bottle with the cap cut off, some fruit juice, and a piece of fruit.
Poke a few holes in the fruit and place it inside the bottle.
Fill the bottle with fruit juice, screw on the lid, and hang it up in a tree or bush.
2. Plant a Butterfly Garden
Better still, plant a garden that the butterflies will LOVE to visit.
By adding plants that butterflies love for their nectar like buddleia and lavender, you encourage them to visit more and help them survive and thrive, too.
Read more about how to plant a garden for pollinators.
3. Read Butterfly Books
There are lots and lots of butterfly books out there. Go to your local library and you’ll find plenty.
We have amassed quiate a collection over our years of homeschooling.
These are four of our favourite books about butterflies:
- Explore My World Butterflies
- A Butterfly's Life Cycle
- Butterflies and Moths
- Caterpillar to Monarch Butterfly Metamorphosis Flipbook
4. Go on a Butterfly Hunt
This is a great activity to do on a nature walk which could even become a minibeast hunt!
See how many different types of butterflies you can find and identify them using a butterfly identification chart.
You could even join in with the Big Butterfly Count in the summer.
5. Learn About the Butterfly Life Cycle
The butterfly life cycle is one of the things we find most fascinating about them.
Teach kids about the process of metamorphosis with these brilliant, hands-on resources.
They really help kids to understand the butterfly life cycle.
- Montessori Butterfly Life-Cycle Puzzle
- Safari Ltd Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly (lots of imitators but this is the best quality model)
- The Life Cycle of a Butterfly Spinner
- Montessori Life Cycle Kit Toy
6. See the Butterfly Life Cycle in Action
A great way to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly is to raise your own!
You can purchase a butterfly raising kit, or you can make your own using a plastic container, some dirt, and some leaves.
Once the caterpillars appear, watch them grow and change into butterflies.
Then release them into the wild! Just make sure they are suited to local conditions and plant species.
7. Butterfly Crafts
There are so many fun easy butterfly crafts for kids to make!
This easy butterfly slime recipe is perfect for playtime, while this butterfly stick puppet craft is a little more challenging.
And younger kids will love making this easy 3D caterpillar craft or even this Very Hungry Caterpillar craft idea.
Whether you're looking for super fun butterfly activities and crafts to do at home or in the classroom, these ideas are sure to be a hit with kids. Have fun!
Do you have any other favorite butterfly activities for kids?
Share them with us over in our kids' activities Facebook group.
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