Young children are often fascinated with the insect life they see around them. Use their enthusiasm as an opportunity to explore the many fascinating things about the world of insects, including metamorphosis, one of the most interesting characteristics.
What is metamorphosis?
Metamorphosis means "to change in form." There are three types of metamorphosis: simple, incomplete, and complete. In all types of metamorphosis insects start off as eggs. In simple metamorphosis, the insect hatches from the egg and looks like a tiny adult. The insect goes through several stages of eating and shedding its skin, a process called molting, until it becomes an adult. Silverfish, springtails, and lice go through simple metamorphosis.
During incomplete metamorphosis, the insect hatches as a nymph and looks like an adult insect but doesn't have fully developed wings. It goes through several molting stages until it develops a full set of wings. Insects that exhibit this type of metamorphosis include grasshoppers, earwigs, dragonflies, termites and aphids.
Complete metamorphosis is the type of metamorphosis most people are familiar with. Insects go through four distinct stages of growth. They begin as an egg, and hatch as larva (plural is larvae) that look like a worm or maggot, drastically different from the adult insect. After a larva goes through multiple stages of eating and molting, it changes into a pupa (plural is pupae) and goes into a quiet stage of rest, not feeding or moving. When the insect emerges from the pupa, it is the adult insect. Butterflies, moths, bees, beetles, and flies are a few examples of insects that go through complete metamorphosis.
There are many activities, crafts and books associated with insects and metamorphosis.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Movement
Try a "Doing the butterfly" activity having children and adults act out the four stages of metamorphosis of a butterfly:
- Stage 1 - Become the egg by squatting down in a small ball. Tuck your head down and wrap your arms around your legs.
- Stage 2 - Hatch out of the egg as a caterpillar by standing up and keeping your arms tight against your body. Wiggle around like a caterpillar would. Open and close your mouth to "eat" until you get enough food and then "shed" your skin (molting - make movements like you're peeling your skin off). Repeat wiggling around, eating and molting several times before moving to stage 3.
- Stage 3 - After the caterpillar has its last meal, put your arms down to your sides and spin in a circle to become a pupa (called a chrysalis for butterflies). Stand very, very still and quiet for a minute or so.
- Stage 4 - Emerge from the pupa as an adult butterfly. Start moving your arms, gently fluttering and extending them up and outward. Be careful not to hit neighboring butterflies!
To extend the activity, ask the children where butterflies go to find food (answer: flowers - they use their proboscis, a long tube-like straw/tongue, to suck up nectar). Children flutter over to a flower, roll out their proboscis (they can make a funny noise when they do) and suck up the nectar (make a sucking noise). Ah, now all children are full and happy butterflies!
Reading and music
Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen, illustrated by Tudor Humphries (2000), ISBN 0-7534-5603-6. Introduce preschoolers to the changes a ladybug goes through during metamorphosis. Other titles are available in the series (ant, bee, dragonfly, grasshopper, snail, spider).
There are a variety of metamorphosis songs and poems already created. Check out "Mr. R's Butterfly Metamorphosis Song" which includes a video and lyrics (see link below). Charlotte Diamond also has the song "Metamorphosis" available (see link below). Be creative and write your own song or poem!
Art
Illustrate the life cycle of an insect using a variety of craft materials. This example is for the complete metamorphosis of a butterfly:
- Divide a paper plate into 4 sections (egg, larva, pupa, and adult) and decide what insect to illustrate. You will glue components for each section to the paper plate.
- In the egg section, create a small egg on a leaf. Use real leaves or cut them out of paper. The "egg" can be a white bean, small ball of cotton, paper, etc.
- In the larva section, make a caterpillar. Use pom-pom balls, clay, spiral-shaped pasta, pipe cleaners, paper, etc.
- In the pupa section, make a pupa that is hanging from a branch. Use a shell-shaped pasta, clay, or crayons for the pupa or cut one out of paper or fabric material.
- In the adult section, make a butterfly with its wings spread open. Use fabric material, glitter, bow-tie pasta, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, markers, etc.
Exploration
What better place to find, study and enjoy insects than the great outdoors? Spring, summer and fall are filled with buzzing sounds and beautiful fluttering wings. Go outside and see what you can find! Look under logs and small rocks, examine the trunks of trees, look along sidewalks, in the grass, and around flowers. Can you find insects that go through complete or incomplete metamorphosis? Catch insects in plastic jars so everyone can see them up close. Release them when you are done. If you don't want to get too up close and personal with insects, use your senses to experience the insect's environment. Is it warm, or moist, or dark? What does it sound like? What does it smell like? What does the tree trunk, the grass, or under the rock feel like?
Resources
If you don't have a good outside location to see live insects, bring them inside! You can raise butterflies, mealworms or other insects in your classroom. Visit Carolina Biological Supply or Insect Lore for more information on purchasing and raising live insects. Care sheets are also available for specific insects.
