A butterfly and a buttercup
A butterfly belongs to the Animal Kingdom. A buttercup belongs to the
Plant Kingdom. The butterfly moves through the air. The buttercup is
rooted in the ground. They seem very different from each other. But are
they?
Butterflies and most other animals come from eggs. And so do buttercups
and most plants. A plant’s egg and the part of the plant around it grow
into a seed—a tiny plant and a store of food. The inside of a
butterfly egg grows into a tiny, curled-up caterpillar and a store of
food.
A caterpillar hatches from an egg and begins to eat. A buttercup sprouts
from a seed and begins to make food for itself. Both the caterpillar and
the buttercup must have food, water, and air to live. So must all plants
and animals.
A caterpillar grows. So does a buttercup. The caterpillar changes into a
brightly colored butterfly. The buttercup bursts out with bright little
flowers. When these things happen, both the butterfly and the buttercup
have reached an important part of their lives. The butterfly will mate
and lay eggs. The buttercup flowers will grow seeds. The butterfly eggs
will become new little caterpillars. And the buttercup seeds will become
new little buttercup plants.
So a butterfly and a buttercup aren’t so different after all. Plants and
animals both have the same needs and they both do many of the same
things. They are both living things, each with its own way of life.
