Kindergarten
Life Cycles Changes Unit on Ladybugs
Unit 3 of the Scott Foresman Reading Street series focuses on the theme of “Watch Me Change.” By adding,
this live animal unit, where students can observe the changes of the ladybugs, they can apply new vocabulary
and the concept of change using as the scientific skills of observation, predicting, compare and contrast, and
asking questions. Students are expected to keep a journal of entries of their observations of the life cycle of the
ladybug and to document their learning.
Essential Question: How do people, plants, and animals grow and change?
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
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Record their observations of the life cycle of a ladybug in a science notebook.
Observe and describe the stages of the ladybug using color, shape, and size.
Make predictions about what will happen at various stages of the life cycle.
Name at least two parts of an insect.
Name the four stages of a ladybug. (All beetles go through the same four stages.)
Use appropriate science vocabulary in their writing to describe the stages of the ladybug and the part of
a ladybug.
Key Vocabulary of the Unit:
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Metamorphosis
Adult
Lava Stage
Pupa Stage
Head
Thorax
Abdomen
Antennae
Stage
Academic Vocabulary:
 Observe
 Predict
 Label
 Record
Science Journal (Possible Sequence of Activities)
Day One (One Entry)
Introduce students to the fact they will be watching ladybugs grow. Explain that you have ladybug larvae.
Explain these came out of an egg. Show pictures of ladybug eggs. Newborn larvae look sort of like tiny
alligators. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae will come out and start looking for something to eat.
Discuss whether it looks like the ladybug that they know. Explain to students that first the ladybug is an egg
then it goes on to its second stage of step, a larvae. Have students draw a picture of the larvae in their science
journal. Have students again describe its color, size and shape in writing. Students should notice it has six
legs.
Day Two (One Entry)
Have students write down everything they think they know about ladybugs. Have students draw a picture of a
ladybug and complete the stem, “I think ladybugs are…” in their science journals.
Next Two Weeks (Larvae Stage Continued) (Four Entries)
For the next two to four weeks, students should observe the changes that will occur to the larvae. For example,
they will grow in size. They will molt, losing their skin. You can find the molted skins on leaves if you look very
hard.
Feed the larvae raisins as recommended at
http://www.insectlore.com/xinsectucational_stuff/instructions/ladybug_land.html . Have students observe the
larvae’s behavior. Have them draw a picture of what they observe and write about their observation.
Students should complete at least four journal entries about this stage.
Students should also observe and discuss the behavior of the larvae. Students should draw a picture of the
behavior and then write to describe what they see.
Have students write their questions about butterflies in their science journals. Discuss as a class how you
might answers to those questions.
Next Five to Seven Days (Pupa Stage) (Two Entries)
At the end of the larvae stage, the larvae will attach itself to a leaf or stem by its tail. The larval skin then splits
down the back, exposing the pupa. The pupa is about the size of the adult but is all wrapped up, protecting the
ladybug while it undergoes metamorphosis into its adult stage.
Ask students to observe the ladybugs during this stage. Introduce the word pupa. Have students draw pictures
of the changes. Again, ask students to describe the color, shape, and size of the pupa. Students should
complete two journal entries during this stage.
Adult Stage (One Week-Ladybugs are recommended to be released after a week) (Two-Three Entries)
As the ladybug emerges from the pupa, have students again observe. When the metamorphosis is complete,
the skin of the larvae will split open and the full grown ladybug will emerge, but it still won’t look like the
ladybug that you know so well. It will look soft and pink or very pale for a couple of hours until its shell becomes
hard. As the shell hardens it also gains pigment, which causes the ladybug to become bright red.
Have students observe the size, color, and shape. Students should draw pictures of the ladybugs. What do
they observe about them? How are they alike and different?
Have students complete a journal entry describing what happened as the pupa opened. Have students
complete a second journal entry about what the ladybug looks like. Finally, have students complete a journal
entry outlining how the ladybugs are different and how they are the same.
Parts of an Insect (One Entry)
Have students observe the ladybugs and discuss the different parts that they see. If possible, have students
observe ladybugs with a hand lens. Students should be able to identify that they have six legs, antennae,
head, thorax, and abdomen. Have students draw an insect and label at least two of the parts in their science
journal. Some students may be able to label all parts.
Summary Journal Entries (One Entry)
Ask students to draw a life cycle wheel of the four stage of the ladybug, i.e. egg, lavae, pupa, and adult.
Students should write about what happened first, second, third, and last.
Release of the Ladybugs (One Entry)
Take the Ladybug Land outdoors, remove the dome, and let your ladybugs fly. If you want your ladybugs to
stay in your backyard or garden, the morning is the best time to release them there. Make sure the
temperatures are above 55 degrees before releasing. During Winter, keep them in the Land for their lifespan.
Have students describe in their science journal the process for releasing the ladybugs through drawing in
addition to describing what happened as the ladybugs were released.
Background Knowledge for Teachers
Ladybugs (also called lady birds and lady beetles) are small, oval-shaped winged insects.
These shiny insects are usually red with black spots or black with red spots on the wing
covers. The number of spots identifies the type of ladybug. Most ladybugs are less than
1/4 inch (4-8 mm) long. As ladybugs age, the color of the spots fade. Birds are the major
predator of the ladybug. Ladybugs will play dead when threatened.
DIET:
These tiny predators are usually very welcome in gardens because ladybug larvae and
adults eat aphids, mealybugs, and mites (which are garden pests). Ladybug larvae can
eat about 25 aphids a day; adults can eat over 50. There are about 5,000 different
species of ladybugs throughout the world. A common species is the two-spotted ladybug; it is orange red with one black
spot on each wing cover.
ANATOMY
Ladybugs are winged insects (a type of beetle). When they are not flying, the flight wings are covered and
protected by a pair of modified wings (called elytra). When flying, the elytras open up, allowing the wings to
move. The area above the elytra is called the pronotum (it is part of the thorax). The pronotum frequently
has grayish spots on it. The head of the ladybug is very tiny (and frequently confused with the pronotum).
Females are larger than males.
Like all insects, ladybugs have:
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6 jointed legs (arranged as 3 pairs)
one pair of antennae
an exoskeleton made of chitin (a type of strong protein similar to the one that forms our hair and fingernails)
a three-part body consisting of the:
o head (which has the mouthparts, compound eye, and antennae)
o thorax (the middle section which is where the 3 pairs of legs and the pairs of wings attach)
o abdomen (which holds the excretory and reproductive organs and most of the digestive system)
LIFE STAGES
The ladybug, like all beetles, undergoes a complete metamorphosis during its life. The life stages of the ladybug are:
egg --> larva --> pupa --> adult.
Female ladybugs lay tiny eggs, usually laid in a small mass (fertilization is internal). The larvae that hatches from the egg
is small and long and has 6 legs. As it rapidly grows, the larva molts (sheds its skin) several times. After reaching full size,
the larvae attaches itself to a plant leaf or stem (by its "tail"). The larval skin then splits down the back, exposing the pupa.
The pupa is about the size of the adult but is all wrapped up, protecting the ladybug while the it undergoes metamorphosis
into its adult stage. This last stage in the metamorphosis takes a few days.
HABITAT:
Ladybugs live in a variety of habitats, including forests, fields, grasslands, gardens, and even in people's houses.
LADYBUGS ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE
Four ladybugs were sent into space in 1999 on NASA's space shuttle led by Eileen Collins. Ladybugs and
their main food, aphids, were sent to a zero-gravity environment to study how to aphids could get away from
the ladybugs without being able to jump using gravity.
According to the STS-93 Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, "One of the experiments that I do understand well,
and is also very interesting, is an experiment that involves aphids and ladybugs. We are taking a
small container with some leaves and aphids, and the ladybugs that are their prime predator. I'm told that the ladybugs on
Earth will climb up a stalk to capture the aphids, and the aphids will use gravity to assist them to fall off of the leaf to
escape from the ladybug. The question is, how will these defense mechanisms work in the absence of gravity, and what
will happen to the relationship between predator and prey? One of the things that extra time has allowed us to do is to
come up with names for the four ladybugs that we have. I think they have been very appropriately named after The
Beatles: John, Paul, Ringo, and George. We're taking these ladybugs up and we're going to release them and see what
they do."
Results of the Experiment: Upon completion of the mission, it was determined that the ladybugs survived and did eat
the aphids while in a microgravity environment. Ladubugs do very well in space!
Other Resources
Websites
Background Information for the Teachers
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http://everything-ladybug.com/ladybug-life-cycle.html
http://www.ladybuglady.com/LadybugsFAQ.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zrDGh2DIRU (Youtube video on the life cycle)
http://www.lacewings.com/ladybugs.htm
http://www.ladybuglady.com/NewLadybug.html
http://www.insectlore.com/xinsectucational_stuff/instructions/ladybug_land.html (Instructions for
Ladybug Dome)
http://ohioline.osu.edu//hyg-fact/2000/2002.html
Bibliography of Books
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Are you a Ladybug (Backyard Books) by Judy Allen
What About Ladybugs? by Cecilia Godwin
Ladybug, Ladybug by Ruth Brown
Ladybug’s Life (Nature Up Close) by John Himmelman
The Ladybug and Other Insects
Ladybugs (Minibeasts) by Claire Llewellyn
Ladybug Larvae Grows Up (Scholastic News Reader) by Katie Marsico
Poetry
Ladybug
by Maria Fleming
Ladybugs all dressed in red
Strolling through the flowerbed.
If I were tiny just like you
I'd creep among the flowers too!
Five Little Ladybugs
Five little ladybugs, climbing on some plants,
Eating the aphids, but not the ants!
The first one said: "Save some aphids for me!"
The second one said: "These are tasty as can be!"
The third one said: "Oh, they're almost gone!"
The fourth one said: "Then it's time to move on!
The fifth one said: "Come on, let's fly!"
So they opened their wings and flew through the sky.
Ladybird Beetles
( Tune: Jolly Old St. Nicholas)
Ladybirds have spots or stripes
They're yellow, red or green;
They love to live where there are weeds;
Around the world they're seen.
They're in the beetle family
And that is no surprise,
Though some folks call them "ladybugs"
Or even "ladyflies."
They lay their eggs upon a leaf;
Their larva is quite small
With little legs; the pupa stage
Hangs on a leaf or wall.
Their favorite food is aphid pests-They eat a lot each day;
And from their legs a fluid comes
That drives their foes away.
Each beetle has six jointed legs
With which it walks or clings;
It also has two separate pairs
Of very special wings;
The first pair is quite hard and tough,
Protecting what's below:
Transparent wings that it can use
To fly where it should go.
About a hundred years ago
An awful insect pest
Was spoiling California's fruit-The farmers had no rest-Till someone had a great idea
And from Australia came
A beetle that would save the crop:
The ladybird by name.
Little Red Bug
by Susan M. Paprocki
Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here's a black spot for your suit.
Now you go and have some fun
With your spot, your very first one.
Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here's a black spot for your suit.
It's so nice to own a few,
So enjoy these lovely two.
Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here's a black spot for your suit.
We are very pleased to see
How nice you look with all three.
Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here's a black spot for your suit.
You might feel that you need more,
So we proudly give you four.
Little red bug, oh so cute,
Here's a black spot for your suit.
Heaven, heaven, sakes alive,
Look at you, you're wearing five!
FIVE LITTLE LADYBUGS
Five little ladybugs on our front door, (Hold up five fingers.)
One flew to Isaac, and that left four. (Hold up four fingers.)
Four little ladybugs, oh so wee,
One flew to Noah, and that left three. (Hold up three fingers.)
Three little ladybugs saying "howdy-do,"
One flew to Brian, and that left two. (Hold up two fingers.)
Two little ladybugs snoozing in the sun,
One flew to Runar, and that left one. (Hold up one finger.)
One little ladybug alone on the door,
It flew to Bella, then there were no more. (Bend down last finger.)
Elizabeth Scofield
Substitute the names of your children for those in the rhyme.
SEE THE LITTLE LADYBUG
Tune: "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
See the little ladybug,
Ladybug, ladybug.
See the little ladybug
Flying here and there.
Now it's landing on the ground,
On the ground, on the ground.
Now it's landing on the ground
And crawling everywhere.
Liz Ryerson
to the tune:Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Head, Thorax, Abdomen
Head, Thorax, Adomen
Compound eyes and two antennae
Head, Thorax Abdomen
Head, Thorax, Abdomen
Head, Thorax, Adomen
We have six legs and some of us have wings
Head, Thorax Abdomen, ABDOMEN!
Ladybug, Oh Where Are You?
Ladybug, ladybug
red with black spot are you,
climbing up that rose
you are in view...
ladybug, ladybug
oh where are you now,
the sun is down,
I don't see you around...
tucked away
inside a rose,
do you lay
sleeping sound?
down a country lane
or on my window pane...
ladybug, ladybug
please come back again.
-Marie Lawrence
OBSERVATIONS ORGANIZER
Writing Frame
Think of properties you
can see such as size,
shape, color, lines,
texture, pattern,
behavior…
I observed…
Think of the other senses
of smell, sound, touch,
and perhaps taste!
I noticed…
Connect it with
something that you
already know.
It reminds me of…
Add more detail as
needed.
This is so because…
Be curious and ask
questions you could
investigate.
I am curious about…
It surprised me that…
OR
I wonder what would happen
if…
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Writing Frame
Start with how things
are the same or
similar.
The _____ and the ______ are
the same because they both
___________.
Add more details as
needed.
In addition, they both
________________.
Explain how they are
different. You can
compare the same
property or
characteristic in the
same sentence. Use
“and”, “but”, or
“whereas” to set up
the contrast.
They are different because the
______, but the ______ does not.
Add more detail as
needed.
Also, the ________, whereas the
________________.
Title
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