Follow a Butterfly Life-Cycle Mobile

Butterflies dazzle us with their exquisite wing colors and delicate movements. Use your Crayola Cutter to create a decorative butterfly mobile!

1. Enjoy the amazing butterfly illustrations in resources such as "The Butterfly Alphabet Book" by Brian Cassie and Jerry Pallotta. Can you pick a favorite? What about the Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly with its huge wings, or the camouflaged Indian Leaf Butterfly?

2. All butterflies begin as eggs. Eggs hatch into caterpillars, which surround themselves with a cocoon or pupa and finally emerge as a gorgeous butterfly.

3. Create your own unique butterfly mobile to show the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle—or make one with lots of different wing patterns. To make a life-cycle mobile, draw a very large butterfly with a Crayola Erasable Colored Pencil on bright paper. Cut out the butterfly on the cutting mat with your Crayola Cutter. Follow the package directions and hold it at a 90-degree angle.

4. Cut a smaller, oval pupa shape from patterned wrapping paper. Cut an even smaller caterpillar from contrasting paper. Use a tiny round bead or button as the egg.

5. Cut out a large circle in the middle of the butterfly, an oval in the middle of the pupa, and a small circle in the caterpillar. Use a short thread and a drop of Crayola School Glue to suspend the bead inside the caterpillar, the caterpillar inside the pupa, and the pupa inside the butterfly.

6. Decorate your mobile with Crayola Markers and the colored pencils. Hang your butterfly mobile in a spot where you, your family, and friends can enjoy it all year long. Could this mobile be your next science project?

Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project.

Sharp Point— CAUTION: Contains a functional sharp point and should not be used by children under 4 years. Close adult supervision is required and adult assistance may be needed.

Small Parts— WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.

String-Like Materials—Includes string, raffia, lacing, yarn, ribbon, and other similar material. Children 3 years and younger should not be given any string-like material that is longer than 12 inches. Close adult supervision is essential whenever children use string-like material. When crafts are to be worn around the necks of children 8 years and younger, attach the ends of the “string-like material” with clear adhesive tape, which allows easy release of the bond if the craft becomes entangled or caught on equipment. For children older than 8 years, the ends of the “string-like material” may be tied and knotted.

Playful Polar Bear Toss

Playful Cat Family

Elephant Pop-Up

Crafts

crayola supplies

• Erasable Colored Pencils
• Classic Markers
• No-Run School Glue
• Crayola Cutter

household supplies

• beads
• Hallmark gift wrap
• thread
• brightly colored paper

"We made similar mobiles with family members and their pets suspended inside. The kids were so proud and their parents were thrilled with our projects."
Calista M., after-school volunteer.

"Our twins' friends had so much fun cutting out funky, glittery mobiles to take home as favors from their birthday party sleepover! "
Jose S., father of 9-year-old twins.

Many butterflies can taste leaves with their feet. They choose only the tastiest leaves on which to lay their eggs, so when their baby caterpillars hatch there will be plenty of good food for them to eat. Adult butterflies cannot bite or chew. They survive on liquids such as tree sap, nectar, fruit juices, and even fluids from carcasses. Their long tongues, called proboscises, work like straws to suck up liquid. A proboscis stays rolled up like a garden hose when it isn’t being used. The Morgan sphinx moth has the longest proboscis, which stretches 12 to 14 inches (30 to 35 cm) to reach the nectar found in deep orchids.