Home » Crafts » Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Paper Plate Craft

Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Paper Plate Craft

Spring is in the air so this is the perfect time to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly with this paper plate craft.

This butterfly craft will work well for preschoolers or kindergarten kids to help them understand the cycles when they see them out in nature. They will probably have questions about other insects, animals, or maybe even the trees and flowers. If a child is afraid of insects that crawl or fly, this may help them overcome being scared.

Life Cycle of a ButterflyPin

The Life Cycle of a Butterfly

There are four stages to the life cycle of a butterfly. They begin with the life cycle of the caterpillar because without them there would be no butterflies and without a butterfly, there would be no caterpillars.

Stage 1 – Eggs: The female butterfly lays her eggs on the leaves or stems of plants and usually hatch within a few weeks.

Stage 2 – Caterpillar: The caterpillar will eat through the egg to enter its new world of chomping and growing. They will shed their skin 4 or 5 times.

Stage 3 – Chrysalis: When the caterpillar is fully grown it forms itself into chrysalis (cocoon) where it will transform into a butterfly.

Stage 4 – Butterfly: Once ready, the cocoon splits open and a butterfly emerges. Their wings are wet and need to dry before they are able to fly. Once dry they pump, a liquid called hemolymph into the wings to make them strong. They are finally ready to fly off and explore the world of flowers and trees.

Butterfly Life Cycle CraftPin

Is a caterpillar a butterfly?

A caterpillar turns into a butterfly. The caterpillar and butterfly belong to the same species, but are at different developmental stages of the life cycle. The caterpillar is at the larva stage which is the 2nd stage of the life cycle. Stage 4 of the butterfly life cycle is the adult stage where the butterfly emerges and now ready to mate and lay eggs. Most adult butterflies live only to be one or two weeks old.

How long does it take for a caterpillar to become a butterfly?

Well, that will depend on the species. Most will go through metamorphosis within a week while others can take up to 3 weeks. 

Now that you know about the caterpillar life cycle, you are ready to start this kid’s butterfly craft.

Butterfly Life Cycle Craft

When the snow starts melting and the weather begins to get warmer, the environment around us begins to change too. We begin to see more birds flying around, the trees are starting to regrow buds that will soon become leaves on their branches that give us shade in the hotter weather. Soon after, we start seeing butterflies fly around us. This paper plate butterfly craft will come in handy to show your kids what is the life cycle of a butterfly.

Butterfly Life Cycle Craft suppliesPin

List of Supplies

  1. Coloured craft papers ( 2-3 different greens, brown, orange, yellow, pink, purple, white, or other coloured paper)
  2. Paper plate
  3. Sharpie
  4. Craft glue
  5. Pencil
  6. Scissors
  7. Printable butterfly life cycle craft template
How to make a Life Cycle of a Butterfly craftPin

How to make a butterfly life cycle

Step 1:

Select different coloured craft papers for the caterpillar, leaf, chrysalis, and butterfly craft.  Trace and cut out the patterns nicely. Let’s start with the leaves, chrysalis, and caterpillar crafts.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 1Pin

Step 2:

Use a sharpie to trace the leaf veins. Attach the leaf cutouts on the stem pattern and then attach the egg cutouts on a leaf pattern.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 2Pin

Step 3:

Attach the chrysalis patterns and then use a sharpie to draw lines on the chrysalis pattern. Attach the extra, stem-like part of the chrysalis with a stem pattern.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 3Pin

Step 4:

Grab the caterpillar pattern cutouts. Attach antennas on either side of the slightly bigger round paper and attach small feet cutouts on the backside of each round shape.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 4Pin

Step 5:

Attach all the round shapes together by keeping the feet on one side. Attach the bigger round shape (the head) to the front.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 5Pin

Step 6:

Now, attach the 2nd feet to each round shape except for the head.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 6Pin

Step 7:

Trace and cut out the smiley butterfly pattern.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly picture step 7Pin

Step 8:

Attach the butterfly patterns together to complete the butterfly life cycle craft.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly picture step 8Pin

Step 9:

Prepare a paper plate by covering the inner bottom surface of the place with a round craft paper.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly picture step 9Pin

Step 10:

Now, place the items on the paper plate, starting from the eggs on a leaf and then the caterpillar followed by the chrysalis and then the butterfly. You can draw arrows pointing from the egg to the caterpillar, from the caterpillar to the chrysalis, from chrysalis to the butterfly and from the butterfly to the eggs.

Butterfly Life Cycle Paper Plate CraftPin

I hope you enjoyed my Butterfly Life Cycle Craft as much as I did! If you make this craft, please share your photos with us on Facebook or Twitter! Also, check out all of our other crafts!

Butterfly Life Cycle Paper Plate Craft

Butterfly Life Cycle Craft

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Materials

Tools

  • Scissors

Instructions

Step 1:

Select different coloured craft papers for the caterpillar, leaf, chrysalis, and butterfly craft.  Trace and cut out the patterns nicely. Let’s start with the leaves, chrysalis, and caterpillar crafts.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 1Pin

Step 2:

Use a sharpie to trace the leaf veins. Attach the leaf cutouts on the stem pattern and then attach the egg cutouts on a leaf pattern.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 2Pin

Step 3:

Attach the chrysalis patterns and then use a sharpie to draw lines on the chrysalis pattern. Attach the extra, stem-like part of the chrysalis with a stem pattern.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 3Pin

Step 4:

Grab the caterpillar pattern cutouts. Attach antennas on either side of the slightly bigger round paper and attach small feet cutouts on the backside of each round shape.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 4Pin

Step 5:

Attach all the round shapes together by keeping the feet on one side. Attach the bigger round shape (the head) to the front.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 5Pin

Step 6:

Now, attach the 2nd feet to each round shape except for the head.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly step 6Pin

Step 7:

Trace and cut out the smiley butterfly pattern.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly picture step 7Pin

Step 8:

Attach the butterfly patterns together to complete the butterfly life cycle craft.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly picture step 8Pin

Step 9:

Prepare a paper plate by covering the inner bottom surface of the place with a round craft paper.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly picture step 9Pin

Step 10:

Now, place the items on the paper plate, starting from the eggs on a leaf and then the caterpillar followed by the chrysalis and then the butterfly. You can draw arrows pointing from the egg to the caterpillar, from the caterpillar to the chrysalis, from chrysalis to the butterfly and from the butterfly to the eggs.

Butterfly Life Cycle Paper Plate CraftPin

Lyne Proulx
Lyne Proulxhttps://ottawamommyclub.ca/
Lyne Proulx is a Certified Professional Wedding Consultant and experienced Event Planner with a strong background in community engagement and large-scale event coordination. For eight years, she led the Annual Infant Information Day/Early Years Expo for the City of Ottawa. From 2013 to 2016, she was the driving force behind the BConnected Conference, Canada’s premier digital influencer and social media conference, held in Ottawa and Toronto. Lyne also served as co-chair of the Navan for Kraft Hockeyville committee from 2009 to 2011, organizing five major community events in just six months. Her leadership helped Navan become one of the top 10 finalists in the national competition. In recognition of her exceptional volunteerism and dedication to community building, she was honored with the City of Ottawa Mayor's City Builder Award in April 2011. In 2025, Lyne brought her passion for weddings and event planning to a new level by organizing the inaugural Tucker House Bridal Fair, showcasing local vendors and creating a unique experience for engaged couples.

Join the Ottawa Mommy Club Newsletter

* indicates required

Related Posts

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Connected

14,939FansLike
402FollowersFollow
12,576FollowersFollow
1,500FollowersFollow
19,699FollowersFollow
1,330SubscribersSubscribe

Recent Stories

Skip to Instructions
Share to...