Life Cycles Explorer

Every living thing goes through a life cycle. Explore the stages of butterflies, frogs, flowering plants, and dogs. Learn what happens at each stage, practice the correct order, and compare how different organisms grow and change.

Reference Guide

What Is a Life Cycle?

A life cycle is the series of changes a living thing goes through from the beginning of its life until it can produce new life. Every plant and animal has its own life cycle.

  • All life cycles include birth, growth, reproduction, and death
  • Some organisms change form completely during their life cycle
  • The cycle repeats when new offspring are born

Metamorphosis

Some animals go through metamorphosis, which means their body changes into a completely different form as they grow up.

  • Butterflies go through complete metamorphosis with 4 stages
  • Frogs change from water-breathing tadpoles to air-breathing adults
  • Dogs and other mammals grow bigger but keep the same basic body shape
  • Plants change form too, growing from seeds into flowering adults

🦋 Butterfly Life Cycle

Butterflies go through complete metamorphosis in 4 stages.

  1. Egg is laid on a leaf (3 to 7 days)
  2. Caterpillar hatches and eats leaves to grow (2 to 4 weeks)
  3. Chrysalis is where the body transforms (1 to 2 weeks)
  4. Adult butterfly emerges with wings (2 to 4 weeks)

🐸 Frog Life Cycle

Frogs start life in water and gradually adapt to living on land.

  1. Eggs are laid in water in jelly clusters
  2. Tadpole hatches and breathes with gills
  3. Tadpole with legs grows limbs for land
  4. Froglet loses its tail and develops lungs
  5. Adult frog can live on land and in water