Photo/Illustration Credits: Cover: Photodisc Collection/Getty, Creatas/ PictureQuest; p. 2: Michael & Patricia Fogden/CORBIS; p. 3: Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc.

/ CORBIS; pp. 45: Robin Brickman; p. 6: Michael & Patricia Fogden/CORBIS; p. 7: Treat Davidson/Frank Lane Picture Agency/CORBIS; p. 8: David Aubrey/CORBIS.

Copyright by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to School Permissions and Copyrights, Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Fax: 407-345-2418. HARCOURT and the Harcourt Logo are trademarks of Harcourt, Inc., registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-15-344000-7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 175 10 09 08 07 06 05

by Sharon M. Luster

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The surface of a pond may look as smooth as a mirror. The pond and the eld around it may seem peaceful. But a lot is happening. Animals are changing and growing. Most sh live in water during their entire life cycles. Many animals, such as grasshoppers, live their whole lives on land. But some animals are born in water and live on land as grownups. Some animals may even change their shapes during their lives. Amphibians are one kind of animal that changes shape. After a frog lays eggs in the pond, tadpoles hatch from the eggs. A tadpole does not look like its parents. It looks more like a sh than a frog. It has a long tail and no legs.
tadpole

A tadpole eats tiny water plants. Its body changes as it grows. Legs develop, and its tail disappears. A tadpole uses gills to get oxygen underwater. Lungs develop as it grows so that the young frog can breathe air. Then it lives on land like other grown frogs. When you were born, you looked like your parents. Unlike a tadpole, you had lungs and legs. But other changes happened. At rst you were small and could not take care of yourself. Then you grew bigger. You learned to walk and to do things by yourself. You can see these changes when you look at family pictures.

Caring for baby C

Human babies are helpless and need a lot of care. Parents feed them and keep them safe and warm.

Dragonies
Many insects change shape and move to new homes. A dragony is a ying insect that begins its life cycle in the water. The female lays hundreds of tiny eggs in a pond or on water plants. Fish eat some of the eggs. Dragony nymphs hatch from the eggs that survive. A nymph does not look like a grown dragony. It lives underwater and gets oxygen through gills. It has a thick body, a hard outer skin, and no wings.
The life cycle of a dragony

eggs

nymph

Nymphs eat other water insects. They also eat snails and beetles. As the nymphs grow, they shed their hard outer skin ten or more times. A nymph forms a new skin under the one that becomes too tight. Then the nymph crawls out of the old skin when the skin gets so tight that it splits open. This is called molting. After about eleven months, the nymph climbs up the stem of a water plant into a strange new world. It begins to breathe air. Its skin splits one last time. This time a dragony with shiny new wings crawls out. When the dragony lays its eggs in a pond or on water plants, a new three-part life cycle beginsegg, nymph, and dragony.
dragony

Butteries
Unlike a dragony, a buttery does not start life in water. There are thousands of different kinds of butteries. Although they may be different in size and in color, they all have a life cycle with four partsegg, caterpillar, pupa, and buttery. Most butteries lay their eggs on plants. Some use a special part of their front legs to taste the plant rst. They make sure that it will be good food for the caterpillar. A monarch buttery lays its eggs on a milkweed plant.
The food a caterpillar eats in one day may weigh more than the caterpillar does. B

Monarch caterpillar

Monarch pupa
A hard shell protects the pupa as it changes shape. C

When the caterpillar hatches from the egg, it eats the leaves of the plant. The caterpillar grows, but its skin does not. The skin is stiff and cannot stretch. When the skin is too tight, it splits, and the caterpillar crawls out. Its new skin becomes hard. In a few weeks, the caterpillars skin is ready to split for the last time. The caterpillar grabs onto a leaf or a twig and attaches itself there. Then it splits open, loses its skin, and becomes a pupa. The outside of the pupa becomes hard like a shell. Inside, the pupa changes into a buttery. When the shell cracks, the buttery comes out. It spreads its wings so that they can dry out. Soon it ies to nd its new food nectar, the sweet juice from owers.
7

Life Cycles
Life at the pond and the eld around the pond is busy with change. Frogs, dragonies, and butteries lay eggs. The eggs change to tadpoles, nymphs, and caterpillars. Tadpoles change to frogs; nymphs to dragonies. Caterpillars change to pupas, and pupas change to butteries. You change, too. Like tadpoles, nymphs, and caterpillars, you eat and you grow. But you will not live in a pond or wake up with wings!
Monarch buttery

Think and Write

1. How is a nymph like a tadpole? 2. What kinds of foods do tadpoles, nymphs, and caterpillars eat? 3. Expository Writing Write a paragraph that tells about how you have changed from the time you were born until now.

Hands-on Activity
Playground Insects Look for insects that are changing their shapes. Leaves may be hiding eggs or caterpillars. Holes in leaves may mean that a caterpillar is nearby. If you nd one, watch it for a while. Go back, if you can, to see other parts of its life cycle.

School-Home Connection
Butteries Put plain white tissue paper in a bowl. Soak the tissue paper with apple juice or grape juice. Set the bowl outside in a quiet place. Watch for butteries to come and eat. Morning is the best time.