Fun ways to learn about minibeast life cycles

Spring is a great time of year to learn about minibeasts and their life cycles. Minibeasts are fascinating creatures you've probably seen in the garden, parks and maybe even indoors! Minibeasts have incredible life cycles, sometimes transforming completely between stages.

What are minibeasts?

Minibeasts are basically small invertebrate ( without a backbone ) animals. Examples of minibeasts are spiders, slugs, beetles, butterflies, earwigs and lots more. Did you know that Britain has over 25,000 species of known invertebrates?

Properties of invertebrate animals

As invertebrates don't have a skeleton,, they are usually soft and bend easily, which makes them quite vulnerable. Some species have a shell to live in, like a snail or a harder outer skeleton ( exoskeleton ) that protects their soft body.

Why are Minibeasts useful?

Some Minibeasts are decomposers. They feed on dead leaves and other waste matter, releasing nutrients into the soil that plants can easily absorb.

Bees, Butterflies and Moths spread pollen, which fertilises flowers.

Minibeasts are an important part of the food chain and are eaten by birds and other small mammals.

Minibeast Life Cycles

Butterfly Life Cycle

What is Metamorphosis?

Did you know that Butterflies and Moths have four separate stages to their life cycle, each of which looks very different and has a different purpose? Between stages, there is a distinct change in the animal's body structure, which we call metamorphosis.

The egg

The egg is tiny and round; the female Butterfly attaches it to a leaf or stem on or near food.

Caterpillar

The Caterpillar, also known as a larva, looks a bit like a small worm and often has stripes and spine-like hairs. Caterpillars grow very quickly, shedding their skin several times along the way.