Resources

Monarch Butterfly Resources –

We have searched around to build our list of Monarch Butterfly resources. Some of the best have been suggested by our site visitors. Know of a site that should be on our list? – Email Us

OUR PHOTO GALLERY

We are always looking for pictures of the Monarchs. If you have any pictures you would like to share with us feel free to Email Us

All About Butterflies Zoom Dinosaurs has put together a great site for young learners to continue their discoveries of butterflies

Billy Bears Butterfly Pages- lots of neat pictures, craft ideas, coloring pages and more

Butterflies.Com- – A wonderful map of the USA, click on a state and learn about butterflies native to that region, very comprehensive

Butterfly Conservatory- live butterfly webcams!

Butterfly Flower Gardening

Butterfly Farming- an interesting site to check out-includes information, lessons, a FAQ, glossary of terms, fast facts and more!

Butterflies For Kids- a great educational site geared towards children!

Butterflies in North America

Butterflies on the Wings Of  Freedom- this is definitely a site to take time to look through- it is packed with all sorts of great resources and information

Butterfly Encounters – Plant Milkweed Seeds for the Monarch Butterfly

Butterfly Printables- brought to you by ABCTeach. FREE!

Caterpillars and Butterflies- geared for younger children, but fun for all-songs, crafts, movement activities and more

Education World-information on the Monarch Migration

Exotic Butterflies- click on a picture and learn about exotic butterflies

Exploring Butterflies in Kdg- Beal Early Childhood Learning Center-NOT just for Kdg!  A definite site to explore!!

First School’s Butterflies- THIS is an AWESOME sight and one of my favorites! You will find activities to enhance your butterfly lesson- letter connections, color printables, posters, coloring sheets, crafts and more! A definite site to check out for younger learners.

Garden Treasures – Where Do Butterflies Come From?
 – Another great resource page that was found by one of our young website visitors.

KIDZONE’s Monarch Butterflies- crafts, info. on butterflies, real photos, coloring pages, ordering butterfly farms, puzzles, and lots more!

KinderKorners Butterfly Unit- book suggestions, places to purchase materials, songs, poems, other website recommendations and more…

Local Butterflies- click on a pic and learn about butterflies such as the “milkweed” and monarch butterflies.

Monarch Watch

Monarch Butterflies-photos of a Monarch emerging from a chrysalis

Monarch Photographs- beautiful pictures of monarch butterflies- a must see site!

Mrs. Jones’s Butterfly Page- a very nicely organized site with lots or resources- songs, printables, on-line activities, songs, additional resources and more!

Parts of A Butterfly- nice photograph labeled with the parts of a butterfly

Sites Suitable For Second Grade- a  collection of sites used in a second grade classroom- don’t limit yourself by not  looking!

Songs- teach through songs at CanTeach-excellent source!

The Butterfly Site- lots of crafts and activities.  Scroll all the way down to find additional resources!

The Butterfly and Moth Learning Center

The Teacher’s Corner-lesson plan ideas to integrate across the curriculum; arts and crafts too.

The Thinking Fountain- a wonderful site on symmetry, metamorphis, literature links and more on monarch butterflies!

Teaching Heart’s Lessons and Activities, and even more

Activities and Ideas from the Eric Carle Boards.

WEBQUESTS! geared towards 2nd grade

Yukon Butterflies- Web Cam- watch Rex metamorphis- check  the whole site for tons of cool stuff!

NOTE: Most of the links above are from the Teacher’s Mouse Pad web site.

Where Do Butterflies Come From? (The Following was seen on a UK website and suggested by Sarah)

Like so many other living creatures on Earth, the butterfly’s life begins as an egg. Different species of butterflies lay different amounts of eggs. The eggs are tiny, only one to two millimeters, and are laid on a leaf of the host plant. The host plant will become the food for the larva after it’s born. A sticky fluid secreted by the female butterfly attaches the eggs to the plant. There they wait, for about a week, until they hatch into caterpillars, also called larva.

Now the feasting begins! The caterpillars will eat for two to four weeks, devouring leaves and plants. It will outgrow its skin several times, as its size increases. Each time the skin is shed, new skin appears, soft and moist. When the caterpillar has accumulated enough fat, it stops eating, and nearly stops moving. It may wander away from the plant in search of a good place pupate (become a pupa). Depending on the species of butterfly, the caterpillar may dangle from a plant when it pupates, or attach itself to the plant’s surface, or crawl into some other sheltered spot. 

After the caterpillar has settled into its chosen place to pupate, one of two possibilities occurs. If it will change while hanging from a plant, it first must spin a silken pad, used to anchor it to the plant. It does this by using its lower lip, or jaw spinnerets. Once complete, the caterpillar clamps onto the pad with its rear claspers, and remains this way until metamorphosis is complete. Species that do not hang while they change simply spin a silken harness to secure them to the plant. Then the pupal skin forms beneath the caterpillar’s old skin. In about a day, the caterpillar molts one last time, and the pupa, or chrysalis is formed.

The final stage of a butterfly is most wondrous! Scientists still struggle to understand all the details of this metamorphosis. The word metamorphosis comes for the Greek, to transform . And that’s exactly what happens inside the chrysalis. The caterpillar liquefies its structure and tissues changing into that of a butterfly. This transformation takes up to two weeks to complete, and then, out of the chrysalis emerges a beautiful butterfly! Its wings are crumpled, and it cannot yet fly. By pumping liquid into the veins of its wings, they stretch and expand into their full size. Soon the butterfly will begin seeking a mate. But there isn’t much time to spare, because the life span of an adult butterfly is not much more than a month!

BUTTERFLY CRAFTS FOR KIDS