This Butterfly Unit Study has all you need to learn about Butterflies with your students in a fun way with videos, crafts, printables, recipes and even an interactive quiz!
The most enjoyable way to learn about something is to explore it from every angle and in every way possible. With this Butterfly Unit Study, your children AND you will enjoy learning about Butterflies as you watch videos, read books, do crafts and printables and even make food together. Have fun!
In the printables section there is no end to keep everyone busy; find word scrambles, word searches, I spy, how many words can you find, coloring pages, a matching game and crossword puzzle.
There are also educational videos to watch, new books to check out, jokes to enjoy together and songs to learn.
Follow my Butterfly Pinterest Board for dozens of ideas from all around the web! I am constantly finding new things to add so there will be new things all the time!
When is National Butterfly Day?
The Butterfly’s special day is called Learn about Butterflies Day and it is on March 14th each year.
They also have a special month! June is Butterfly Awareness Month.
Other Unit Studies
Seasons and Holidays
Animals
Facts about Butterflies
Butterflies are insects.
They have 4 wings.
Most butterflies feed on nectar from flowers.
Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet.
There is a myth that butterflies cannot hear and have no ears. That is not true. They don’t have ears and hear like we do but they do have ears at the base of their wings and they can hear with them.
Butterflies taste with their feet and hear with their wings!
Butterflies do not have mouths or tongues like we do and do not eat or drink like we do.
They have a long, straw for a mouth. It is called a proboscis. They can’t eat with their proboscis, only drink. They roll it up when they aren’t using it. There are a few taste buds on their proboscis but most of their taste buds are on their feet.
Butterflies use their proboscis to drink nectar from flowers or nutrients from rotten fruit or puddles water or mud. This is called puddling.
Butterflies have 3 body parts; a head, thorax and abdomen.
Like all insects, they have six legs.
The 6 legs and 4 wings are all attached to the thorax.
Scales like dust cover their wings, body, and legs.
Most caterpillars are herbivores (plant eaters).
Lepidopterology is the study of butterflies.
Someone who studies lepidopterology is called a lepidopterist.
Butterflies go through a process called metamorphosis.
Metamorphosis is an abrupt change of a living thing’s body structure after it’s been born or hatched.
Only a few species of butterflies spin a cocoon, and most of them produce a chrysalis (pupa).
Butterflies have four stages in their lifecycle.
They are egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult (butterfly).
Butterflies start out as an egg. It is often laid on a leaf.
When the baby caterpillar (the larva) hatches, its first meal is usually its own eggshell.
The caterpillar will eat leaves or flowers—and grow–almost constantly. The caterpillar molts (loses its old skin) many times as it grows because its body gets to be too big for its skin.
The caterpillar will grow up to several thousand times larger before turning into a pupa (a chrysalis).
While it is in the pupa stage, it will be resting and changing.
The last stage is to become an adult. It will come out of the chrysalis as a beautiful, flying butterfly.
Butterflies can live in the adult stage from anywhere between a week and a year, depending on the species.
There are about 18,500 known species of butterflies worldwide.
A group of butterflies can be called a swarm, a rabble, a flutter or a kaleidoscope. You can decide which you like best!
Butterflies can only fly if their body temperature is above 86 degrees. They will warm in the sun before trying to fly.
Butterflies live on every continent except for Antarctica.
The average flying speed of a butterfly is between 5mph and 12 mph but Skipper Butterflies can get up to 37 mph.
Butterflies don’t pee or poop. Everything they consume turns to energy right away so there is nothing left for their bodies to get rid of.
On the other hand—have you ever seen a caterpillar? They eat and poop almost constantly!
Caterpillar poo is called frass.
The largest butterfly in the world is the Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing. They have a wingspan of 10 ½ inches and live in the rainforests of northern Papua New Guinea.
The smallest butterfly in the world is the Western Pygmy Blue Butterfly. They have a wingspan of 0.5 inch and live from central California through the western U.S. and down into Venezuela.
The fastest flying butterfly is the Skipper Butterfly. They can fly 37 miles per hour! That is as fast as a horse in a race!
**When you think you know the facts, take the interactive quiz at the bottom of the post! 😊
Can you tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth?
There are several differences between butterflies and moths. Butterfly antennas, or feelers, are slender and end in little knobs. Moth antennas lack these knobs. They often look like tiny feathers or threads.
In addition, butterfly wings are usually brightly colored or boldly patterned. Most moths have a duller color and a thicker body than butterflies do.
Most butterflies are active during the daytime, while moths generally are active at night.
When a butterfly is at rest, its wings are generally together. A moth will usually rest with its wings open.
This article from naturalscience.org called Butterflies and Moths; differences are just scale deep, has good pictures to go with the subject.
Some Ways to Interact with Real Butterflies
Grow the monarch butterfly’s favorite Milkweed and host plants in your garden to help their population thrive by Bunny’s Garden.
Raise black swallowtail butterflies at home easily with these tips! They will keep coming back every year by Bunny’s Garden.
Give our wonderful pollinators a special place to get a drink by making this butterfly puddler by Bunny’s Garden.
Learn about the butterfly life cycle while Raising Butterflies by Rainy Day Mum.
Learn How to Start a Butterfly Garden by Two Kids and a Coupon
Videos about Butterflies
Life Cycles Video Lesson for Kids | Grades 3-5 | Mini-Clip 1:50 A good, quick explanation of metamorphosis.
Life Cycle of a butterfly | Butterflies for Kids | Learn the 4 stages of the butterfly life cycle 8:11 Goes over the life cycle and also lots of other facts with good pictures and videos.
10 Most Beautiful Butterflies on Planet Earth 9:01
Butterflies Flying in Slow Motion HD – Houston Butterfly Museum 3:51 A very peaceful few minutes of watching several different kinds of butterflies in slow motion.
Songs
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly Song by Silly School Songs 2:15
“Goin’ Down To Mexico (The Monarch Butterfly Song)” about monarch migrations 3:32
Caterpillar to Butterfly | Cutie Crawlies! | Insect Songs for Kids | Bugs Song | JunyTony 2:45
Learn The Butterfly Dance Song for Children | 4 Stages Egg Caterpillar Chrysalis| Patty Shukla Dance 3:32 Includes actions to go with the song
Some Jokes
Kids love jokes so I had to include some good ones here for them!
Printables
Butterfly I Spy Printables (2 levels and I spy and color)
22 Free Butterfly Coloring Pages
Free Printable Butterfly Memory Matching Game
Free Butterfly Crossword Puzzle
Butterfly Word Search Printables (2 levels)
Butterfly Word Scramble Printables (2 levels)
3 Free Butterfly How Many Words Printables
Butterfly Identification Cards by Little Ladoo
Different Ways to Study the Life Cycle
Butterfly Life Cycle Activity Seed Printable by Messy Little Monster
Butterfly Life Cycle Activity for Kids by Taming Little Monsters
Butterfly Life Cycle Cootie Catcher Printable by Red Ted Art
Life Cycle of a Butterfly Printable Mat by Mommy Made That
Crafts and Activities
Potato Stamp Butterfly Art by Little Ladoo
Butterfly Symmetry Painting by Little Ladoo
Easy Colorful Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft by In the Playroom
Cute Butterfly Craft by Two Kids and a Coupon
Magazine Paper Butterfly Garland by Sum of their Stories
Toilet Paper Roll Butterfly Craft by Two Kids and a Coupon
Thumbprint Butterfly Craft by Simply Full of Delight
Symmetry Butterfly Painting with Free Printable by Simply Full of Delight
Butterfly Mask Craft by Messy Little Monster
Butterfly Popsicle Stick Craft by Mom Wife Busy Life
Butterfly Life Cycle Model by Steam Powered Family
Paper Plate Butterfly by Messy Little Monster
Popsicle Stick Butterfly Craft by Simple Everyday Mom
Paper Plate Butterfly Craft by Simple Everyday Mom
Butterfly Shape Craft by Simple Everyday Mom
Easy Egg Carton Butterfly by Crafty Art Ideas
Melted Crayon Butterflies by Barley and Birch
Free Printable Butterfly Suncatcher by Artsy Fartsy Mama
Butterfly Handprint Craft by Mommy Made That
Recipes
Butterfly Decorated Sugar Cookies by Buttercream Parties
Chocolate Filled Butterfly Pretzels by Meaningful Mama
Butterfly Food Ideas by Meaningful Mama
Top 12 Adorable Butterfly Food Ideas for Kids by Super Healthy Kids
How to Draw Butterflies
Here is some instruction on how to draw Butterflies. They are both a little bit different and the outcome of what the butterfly looks like is a bit different so you can choose which you like.
How to Draw a Butterfly Easily by Easy Crafts for Kids
How to Draw a Butterfly by Artsy Pretty Colors
I found the facts for this post from the following sources
It is always good to cite your sources and if you would like to read more details, there is much more information at the links.
Butterfly facts for Kids by Facts for Kids
Butterfly Facts by Science Kids
All about Butterflies by Enchanted Learning
Do Butterflies have ears by Wildlife Welcome
Fun Facts about Butterflies by Wildlife Welcome
Can Butterflies Taste with their Feet by Wildlife Welcome
How much do you remember? Take your Interactive Quiz here!
Butterfly Quiz
If you make it, play it or use it, let me know! Rate it and leave a comment below. I love hearing from you!
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Cindy
Welcome! I am a wife, mother, mother-in-law, Grammy, daughter, sister and retired homeschooler. I enjoy writing about things I have learned over the years, sharing recipes and tips with others and making free printables for parents and teachers.
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