3D Butterfly Life Cycle Craft

Assemble our 3D Butterfly life cycle craft diorama and have your kids or students examine the life cycle of a butterfly in 3D!  

This project is easy enough to make that every student in the classroom can make their own butterfly life cycle model.

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This 3D paper craft model will take you through the 4 stages of the butterfly life cycle…

Adult butterfly

Each quarter of the display is dedicate to one stage, the butterfly stage shows an adult monarch like butterfly. 

Eggs

A leaf full of butterfly eggs is shown on the next stage.

Caterpillar (larva)

Next we have a caterpillar nibbling a leaf.

Chrysalis (pupa)

Before butterflies become all pretty and colorful a stage with chrysalis must happen.

Spin the butterfly life cycle paper craft around and observe all stages of the process.

How to make 3D Butterfly Life Cycle Craft

What you need:

• our butterfly life cycle model template
• heavier print paper / cardstock
• scissors
• glue
• optional: coloring supplies if printing the black and white version

Step by step tutorial

Print out the templates – the precolored one or the black and white. If you printed the black and white one, the first thing you need to do is to color it.

Cut out the 4 displays with the tree branch.

Fold along all of the dashed lines.

Make the folds nice and crisp.

Run your fingers through the folds – the nicer the folds, the easier the next steps.

Apply glue on the area marked with the word glue.

Stick the area with the word glue, under the green quarter circle part.

First quarter of your butterfly life cycle diorama is ready!

Make another 3.

Now we need to glue them all together, apply glue on one rectangle part of the diorama. 

Stick the two dioramas together.

Add the third one…

And the forth one to complete your 3D model.

While the glue sets, move onto cutting the butterfly life cycle images.

We added the names of the stages (two versions for two of the words), you can cut those too and add them to your model or have it without word labels.

Let’s start with the eggs! Fold along the dashed line…

…apply glue on the area marked with the word glue and stick it in one of the 4 dioramas – attach it on the twig.

Do the same with the caterpillar.

The chrysalis…

…and the adult butterfly.

All done! Your 3D butterfly life cycle model is complete.

Get the Printable Diorama Craft Template