Ladybird Life Cycle – complete metamorphosis

Watch this video to find out why ladybirds are loved by gardeners and farmers.

https://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2777423/meet-the-ladybird

Here are some ladybird facts:

https://www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/animals/insects/ladybird-facts/

Now watch this video about the ladybird’s life cycle:

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/a-ladybug-ladybird-life-cycle-time-lapse

(In the video we saw newly hatched ladybird larvae eating an unhatched egg. Scientists believe ladybirds lay both fertile and infertile eggs in the cluster. When aphids are in limited supply, the newly hatched larvae will feed on the infertile eggs.)

Many ladybird species (like Britain’s most common one, the seven spotted ladybird) only have one generation in a year:

• October-February: Adult ladybirds spend winter in a dormant state, known as 'overwintering'.
• March-April: Adult ladybirds become active and leave their overwintering sites to find food.
• May: Male and female ladybirds mate.
• June-July: Mated females lay eggs which hatch into immature stages called 'larvae' which pass through four instars (stages) and then form 'pupae'.
• August: The new generation of adult ladybirds emerge from the pupae.
• September: These new adults feed but do not mate until next spring after they have overwintered.

​​​​​​​

Complete Activity 1 – answer the questions.

Complete Activity 2 – Make a Ladybird Life Cycle. Cut out the pictures provided. Place in the correct order in an oval shape, connecting each stage to the next by an arrow. Add a sentence under each picture giving some information about the ladybird at that stage.

Grasshopper Life Cycle – incomplete metamorphosis

Not all insects go through complete metamorphosis.  Some undergo simple or incomplete metamorphosis. Find out the difference by going to:

https://kids.kiddle.co/Metamorphosis

Watch this video about the praying mantis life cycle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urk-_Uh2vbg

Read this information about the grasshopper life cycle.

http://www.vtaide.com/png/grasshopper.htm

Sometimes certain species of grasshopper can cause huge devastation.

Read the following to find out more:          https://kids.kiddle.co/Locust                   

Look at this to find out where it is happening now:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-51618188

Complete Activity 3 - Make a Grasshopper Life Cycle. Cut out the pictures provided. Place in the correct order in a circular shape, connecting each stage to the next by an arrow. Add a sentence under each picture giving some information about the grasshopper at that stage.

Complete Activity 4 – answer the questions.