As monarchs grow and develop, they go through life cycle stages familiar to most children: egg, larva, chrysalis and adult butterfly. More detailed studies allow students to observe changes within each stage, such as increasing size of the larvae or wing expansion of the newly emerged butterfly.

Understanding the life history of monarchs involves learning about the annual migration of adult butterflies from the Eastern U. S. to wintering grounds in Mexico, and about the geographic distribution and seasonal movement of the summer generations. Studies of this complex life history include opportunities for map work and learning about changes over time in conditions suitable for monarch survival. Students can also consider the growth (or decline) of monarch populations in these studies.

While children often know basic insect life cycle stages (egg, larva, pupa, adult), they may have had limited experience with observing these stages in living organisms. Here they learn more detail about changes within the stages, such as molting and growth of larval instars . They note major transitions such as chrysalis formation and adult emergence from the chrysalis.

While children may know that monarch butterflies migrate, they learn here how the movement of successive generations of monarchs follows seasonal cues and available food sources. They also learn what is known about the geographic distribution of monarchs as well as the difference between activities of the summer generations and the over -wintering colonies.