Assignment - Infographics - 153

A Note on What Makes This an Infographic

A circle with “egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly” and four labels is a diagram most students have seen since primary school. An infographic about the butterfly’s life cycle goes deeper: what is actually happening inside the chrysalis, why does the caterpillar eat so much, what triggers the transformation, and how is this different from the frog’s metamorphosis? Make the familiar strange and interesting.

Objective

Create a cycle diagram infographic in Canva that follows the butterfly’s life through all four stages, explaining the biological process at each stage and what complete metamorphosis means compared to incomplete metamorphosis.

Content to Cover

Opening Anchor

The butterfly undergoes complete metamorphosis (holometabolism) - four distinct stages in which the body is completely restructured between the larval and adult forms. The caterpillar and the butterfly are so different they barely seem to be the same animal. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar’s body breaks down almost entirely and is rebuilt from scratch.

The Four Stages

Stage 1: Egg

• A female butterfly lays eggs on the leaves of a specific host plant - the plant the caterpillar will eat when it hatches.
• Eggs are tiny, often less than 1mm, and may be round, oval, or ridged depending on species.
• The egg contains nutrients for the developing larva.
• Duration: hatches in 3-7 days for most species.

Stage 2: Larva (Caterpillar)

• The caterpillar hatches from the egg and immediately begins eating - first the eggshell, then the host plant.
• Its only job is to eat and grow. It is a feeding and growing machine.
• As it grows, it molts (sheds its skin) 4-5 times because its skin does not stretch.
• Caterpillars grow to hundreds of times their hatching size.
• Duration: 2-4 weeks for most species.

Stage 3: Pupa (Chrysalis)

• When fully grown, the caterpillar forms a chrysalis - a hard protective casing attached to a surface.
• Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar’s body undergoes histolysis - most of its cells break down into a liquid-like mass.
• From this mass, imaginal cells (cells that carry the blueprint of the adult body) build the butterfly’s wings, legs, eyes, and antennae.
• This is not a resting stage - it is one of the most active periods of biological change.
• Duration: 1-2 weeks for most species.

Stage 4: Adult (Butterfly)

• The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, pumps fluid into its wings to expand them, and waits for them to dry.
• The adult’s main job is reproduction - it feeds on nectar to fuel flight and finds a mate.
• Adults have compound eyes, long antennae, and three pairs of legs.
• After mating, the female lays eggs and the cycle begins again.
• Lifespan varies widely: some adults live only a week; the monarch butterfly lives up to 9 months.

Complete vs. Incomplete Metamorphosis

Add a comparison panel:

• Complete metamorphosis (butterfly): 4 stages - egg, larva, pupa, adult. The pupa is a restructuring stage. Larva and adult look nothing alike and live in completely different ways.
• Incomplete metamorphosis (frog, grasshopper): No true pupa stage. The juvenile (nymph or tadpole) looks similar to the adult and gradually changes shape.

Design in Canva

• Circular layout with four stages arranged clockwise.
• Illustration of each stage showing its appearance.
• Each panel: stage name, what the organism does, key biological process, and duration.
• The chrysalis stage should be visually prominent given the dramatic biology happening inside.
• Complete vs. incomplete metamorphosis comparison panel outside the main cycle.

Required Elements

• All four stages with biological process and duration explained.
• The histolysis (cell breakdown) process inside the chrysalis mentioned.
• Complete vs. incomplete metamorphosis comparison.
• Title: “Life Cycle of a Butterfly.”