The Life of a Butterfly: teacher key

Butterflies, grade 4 edition, written for 4th grade. A butterfly grows in four steps. Find out how a monarch grows, how it stays safe, and how it flies to a warm winter home.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What do monarch caterpillars eat?
   • Rotting fruit
   • Milkweed (answer)
   • Wet mud
2. What is a cocoon?
   • The silk case a moth caterpillar spins (answer)
   • A green case with gold dots
   • A kind of flower
3. Where do monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains spend winter?
   • California
   • Canada
   • Mexico (answer)
4. A monarch egg hatches after about four days. The caterpillar then eats and grows for about two weeks. About how many days is that in all?
   • About 4 days
   • About 18 days (answer)
   • About 2 months
5. What does proboscis mean?
   • Long tongue (answer)
   • Silk button
   • Hidden gland

Words

• cocoon: silk case
• proboscis: long tongue
• chrysalis: butterfly pupa