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  • Here are links to Science Learning Hub resources for primary teachers related to life cycles in the Living World strand of the New Zealand Curriculum.

    Explore the life cycles of birds, butterflies, crabs, eels, ferns, fungi1, green-lipped mussels, human beings, inanga (whitebait), insects, moths, plants and more.

    Birds

    Discover more about the life cycles of birds.

    Penguin life cycle – Image

    Life cycle of kākā – Interactive

    Butterflies

    Explore the life cycles of native2 and introduced New Zealand butterflies.

    Unit plan: Butterflies (lower primary)

    Unit plan: Butterflies (upper primary)

    Butterflies – Introductory article with links to media, articles and activities

    Monarch butterflies – Article

    White butterflies – Article

    White butterfly life cycle – Activity

    Crabs

    Crab larvae3 develop in open water, not near the reef where they started their life. Fertilised crab eggs are released into the water and float with the currents while they develop into the larval4 form. They find their way back to suitable habitats5 from long distances.

    Crabs finding home – Article

    Crab life cycle – Image

    Eels

    The life cycle of eels has long been a mystery. The eels breed only once at the end of their life cycle. In the autumn, adult eels leave the rivers and streams and head for the ocean. From there, they make a long journey of thousands of kilometres to a place somewhere in the South Pacific ocean. Scientists think the spawning6 grounds may be close to Tonga.

    Rights: University of Waikato. All rights reserved.

    The life cycle of eels

    Longfin eels – Article

    Adapting SLH activities: changing the topic – PLD

    Role-play – building science knowledge and Role-play – playing the game and reflections – Videos

    Inanga life cycle – Image

    Life cycle of freshwater eels – Image

    Longfin eel – on a path to extinction? – Article

    Ferns

    Ferns are unique amongst land plants in that they have 2 separate living structures in their reproductive7 cycle.

    What is a fern? – Article

    Fern life cycle – Interactive

    Fern propagation – Activity

    Why are ferns unique? – Video

    Fern reproduction – Video

    Fungi

    Fungi are almost everywhere – learn more about fungal life cycles and different parts of a fungus8.

    Fungal life cycles – spores and more – Article

    Ngā hurihanga ora o te hekaheka – ngā pua atua me ētahi atu hanga – Article

    Mushroom life cycle – Image

    Te hurihanga ora o te harore – Image

    Green-lipped mussels

    During its life cycle, the green-lipped mussel undergoes enormous changes, including fundamental changes in shape. It changes from a free-swimming larval9 form (which swims in the ocean) to a settled juvenile and adult form (which is anchored to one spot).

    Life of a green-lipped mussel – Article

    Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

    Mussel life cycle

    The life cycle of the New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus, kūtai). As larvae, green-lipped mussels are free-swimming. They metamorphose and settle onto seaweed and subsequently onto solid surfaces.

    Human beings

    Find out about the key stages in the development of a human.

    Fertilisation to adulthood – Timeline

    Inanga (whitebait)

    Whitebait lay their eggs in freshwater, and after hatching, the larvae are swept down to the ocean where they grow. The young then move back up into freshwater in large shoals known as runs.

    Whitebait – Article

    Inanga and other whitebait – Video

    Insects

    Scale insects10 are tiny in size but have a significant impact on the forest ecosystem11.

    Scale insect life cycle – Video

    Glow-worms spend most of their lives as larvae – where their famous light is produced most brightly. The other stages are surprisingly short in comparison.

    Glow-worms – Article

    Discover how different our native wasps are to the common idea of what a wasp is.

    Parasitoid wasp life cycle – Article

    Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

    Parasitoid wasp life cycle

    A generalised diagram of a parasitoid wasp life cycle. Different species will differ in regards to the number of eggs laid and whether they lay eggs on the host or inject a single egg into the host.

    Moths

    Find out how to rear moths using basic equipment such as a plastic12 lunchbox to grow eggs and caterpillars into moths.

    Rearing insects – Activity

    Rearing moths – Video

    Plants

    Humans have many reasons to grow plants: for food, for building materials or simply for pleasure. A plant really just has one reason to grow – to reproduce to make more plants like it.

    Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

    From kōwhai flower to fruit

    After fertilisation, the kōwhai petals fall off and the ovary grows longer. Each ovule in the ovary that gets fertilised produces a seed. Each ‘lump’ in the fruit pod is a seed.

    Unit plan: Pollination (lower primary)

    Seeds, Stems and Spores – Introductory article with links to media, articles and activities

    Plant reproduction – Article

    Plant reproduction without seeds – Article

    The seed-flower life cycle – Article

    Flowering plant life cycles – Article

    Pollination pairs – Activity

    Trees and natural cycles – Article

    1. fungi: The Fungi are a kingdom separate from plants and animals. Like animals, a fungus (or fungi – plural) is an organism that cannot make its own food. It can be multicellular such as mushrooms and moulds, or unicellular such as yeasts. Fungi may be decomposers, parasites, or mutualists (helping plants to grow).
    2. native: A species that lives naturally in a country, as opposed to species that have been introduced by the activity of humans. 
    3. larva: An immature form that some animals (such as insects, crustaceans and amphibians) pass through before metamorphosing into an adult form.
    4. larval: The immature or juvenile form of some animals.
    5. habitat: The natural environment in which an organism lives.
    6. spawning: The laying of eggs by aquatic animals like fish, frogs, crustaceans or mollusks.
    7. reproductive system: The system in an organism that aids in the production of new individuals.
    8. fungi: The Fungi are a kingdom separate from plants and animals. Like animals, a fungus (or fungi – plural) is an organism that cannot make its own food. It can be multicellular such as mushrooms and moulds, or unicellular such as yeasts. Fungi may be decomposers, parasites, or mutualists (helping plants to grow).
    9. larva: An immature form that some animals (such as insects, crustaceans and amphibians) pass through before metamorphosing into an adult form.
    10. scale insects: A family of insects that generally feed directly on the sap produced by plants.
    11. ecosystem: An interacting system including the biological, physical, and chemical relationships between a community of organisms and the environment they live in.
    12. plastic: A synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers (such as polyethylene, PVC and nylon) that can be moulded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.
    Published 2 July 2015, Updated 3 October 2019 Referencing Hub articles
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        fungi

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      2. The Fungi are a kingdom separate from plants and animals. Like animals, a fungus (or fungi – plural) is an organism that cannot make its own food. It can be multicellular such as mushrooms and moulds, or unicellular such as yeasts. Fungi may be decomposers, parasites, or mutualists (helping plants to grow).

        larval

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      4. The immature or juvenile form of some animals.

        reproductive system

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      6. The system in an organism that aids in the production of new individuals.

        plastic

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      8. A synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers (such as polyethylene, PVC and nylon) that can be moulded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.

        native

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      10. A species that lives naturally in a country, as opposed to species that have been introduced by the activity of humans. 

        habitat

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      12. The natural environment in which an organism lives.

        scale insects

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      14. A family of insects that generally feed directly on the sap produced by plants.

        larva

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      16. An immature form that some animals (such as insects, crustaceans and amphibians) pass through before metamorphosing into an adult form.

        spawning

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      18. The laying of eggs by aquatic animals like fish, frogs, crustaceans or mollusks.

        ecosystem

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      20. An interacting system including the biological, physical, and chemical relationships between a community of organisms and the environment they live in.