Life Cycle of a Butterfly in a Leafy Circle

Coloring guide
This life cycle page follows a curved branch, with arrows leading your eye around a circle of leaves. Tiny eggs are clustered on a leaf at the upper left. Next comes a smiling, round-eyed caterpillar with spotted body segments, and then a chrysalis hanging from the branch on the right. At the bottom, a happy butterfly spreads big patterned wings with dotted edges and a striped body. Each stage has clear outlines and roomy spaces, so it's a nice fit for young kids learning the cycle at home or in a science lesson. Soft greens work well for the leaves, lime green for the caterpillar, and orange with bold patterns for the butterfly. Kids can follow the arrows and talk through each stage as they color. It's free to print. Fans of Butterfly coloring pages often like Umbrella and Star as well.
A gentle color plan to get started — mix in your own anytime.
- leaf green
- golden orange
- yellow green
- bright orange
- golden yellow
- charcoal black
- lime green
- cream white
- dark gray
- chocolate brown
- light gray
A suggested order, zone by zone — skip around as you like.
- 1Start with the leaves, the curved stem and the small leaves in leaf green, leaving the thin vine gap on the left white.
- 2Color the caterpillar body in lime green and add golden yellow spots, keeping its face and eyes white with black details.
- 3Fill the chrysalis with yellow green, then add a golden yellow tip and cream white dots, and color the eggs cream white.
- 4Paint the butterfly's wings in bright orange and golden orange, its body and head in golden yellow, and the lower tip of the abdomen in chocolate brown.
- 5Use charcoal black for the wing edges and dots, leaving a few dots white, then color the arrows golden yellow.
- 6Optional: add a few darker strokes of leaf green or bright orange along the edges for a little depth.
More Butterfly Coloring Pages

Forest Mushroom Top Butterfly Page

Girl in a Flowered Sun Hat with a Butterfly on Her Finger

Newly Hatched Butterfly Beside Its Chrysalis

Friendly Caterpillar and Butterfly Under the Sun

Daisy Perch for a Smiling Butterfly

Hearts, Sun and Flowers Around a Butterfly

Young Butterfly Clinging to a Chrysalis on a Branch

Three Butterflies Fluttering Over a Picket Fence





