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Animal Life Cycles

[simple life cycle]   [amphibians]   [insects - complete metamorphosis]   [insects - incomplete metamorphosis]   [worksheets]

Animals that Grow Up (Simple Life Cycle):

Most animals including fish, mammals, reptiles and birds have very simple life cycles:

• they are born (either alive from their mother or hatched from eggs)
   
• they grow up

These animals have three stages -- before birth, young and adult.  The young are typically similar to the parent, just smaller.  The young slowly "grow" to become adults.

Amphibians:

Amphibians, like frogs and newts, have a slightly more complicated life cycle.  They undergo a metamorphosis (a big change):

• they are born (either alive from their mother or hatched from eggs)
   
• they spend their childhood under water, breathing with gills
   
• they grow into adults and move to the land, breathing with lungs

Animals that Undergo a Complete Metamorphosis:

Insects

These insects have four stages in their life cycle:

• egg:    unborn stage.
   
• larva:   young stage -- this is when most of the feeding is done.
             (they usually look like worms)
   
• pupa:  inactive (no feeding) stage between larva and adult stages.
             (usually well camouflaged)
   
• adult:   final, breeding stage.
              (they usually grow wings)

Animals that go through a complete metamorphosis are what my daughter Kaitlyn calls "Wow!" animals -- they go to bed looking one way and wake up a completely different creature.  Wow!

Animals that Undergo an Incomplete Metamorphosis:

About 10% of insects go through an incomplete metamorphosis.  They do not have a pupa form -- these include dragonflies, grasshoppers and cockroaches.

These insects have three stages in their life cycle:

• egg:    unborn stage.
   
• larva:   young stage -- this is when most of the feeding is done.
   
• adult:   final, breeding stage - including wings.

Worksheets:

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