---
title: "Insect life cycles: complete metamorphosis"
description: "Insect life cycles — complete metamorphosis in detail. Egg → larva → pupa → adult. The larva (caterpillar, grub, maggot) looks completely different from the adult. Inside the pupa the body is rebuilt."
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/insect-life-cycles-complete-metamorphosis-mt_hsN-YvCNQY
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/insect-life-cycles-complete-metamorphosis-mt_hsN-YvCNQY.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Insect life cycles: complete metamorphosis

Insect life cycles — complete metamorphosis in detail. Egg → larva → pupa → adult. The larva (caterpillar, grub, maggot) looks completely different from the adult. Inside the pupa the body is rebuilt. Butterflies, beetles, flies, and ladybirds all undergo complete metamorphosis.

Subject: Science · Area: Insects & Minibeasts · Ages 7 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/insect-life-cycles-complete-metamorphosis-mt_hsN-YvCNQY

## Ready when they can

- Name the four stages of complete metamorphosis using the correct terms: egg, larva, pupa, adult
- Explain that the larva stage is when the insect eats and grows, and the pupa stage is when its body transforms
- Give at least two examples of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis such as butterflies and beetles

## Lesson: The four stages of complete metamorphosis

Some insects hatch from an egg and grow up through four very different stages. This is called complete metamorphosis. The four stages are: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

*(drawing: Egg, larva, pupa, adult. Each stage looks totally different from the one before.)*

**Example.** Take a ladybird. It starts as a tiny egg stuck to a leaf. Out hatches a larva: a small, spiky, black and orange grub that eats greenfly all day. The larva grows bigger and bigger. Then it turns into a pupa, stuck still to the leaf. Inside, its whole body changes. At last, an adult ladybird climbs out, round and spotted, ready to fly.

Butterflies, beetles, flies, and ladybirds all go through complete metamorphosis. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly. A maggot becomes a fly. In every case, the larva looks nothing like the adult it will become.

**Tip.** The pupa stage is not just resting time. Inside the pupa, the larva's body is taken apart and rebuilt into the adult's body, with new legs, wings, and shape.

**Recap.** Every insect with complete metamorphosis grows through four stages, egg, larva, pupa, adult, and the pupa is where the big rebuild happens.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Caterpillar to butterfly](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/caterpillar-to-butterfly-mt_Wr6DDgr_kH)

## Opens up

- [Types of Metamorphosis](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/types-of-metamorphosis-mt_ShAptVcQR3)