Bee Life Cycle Craft [Free Template]

As a teacher, finding fun and engaging ways to teach about the natural world can be challenging, but with this bee life cycle craft, you can easily help your students learn about the fascinating life cycle of bees while also engaging their creative side.

Fine motor skills are essential and I love finding new ways to build on those small finger muscles each and every week. 

See the step by step instructions for this bee craft along with the FREE template at the bottom of this post.

Teaching kids all about bees

I’ve previously shared some super fun and hands on bee crafts. See them all and choose between the ones that would benefit your students. 

Bees play an important role in pollinating crops, making honey, and helping to maintain the balance of the ecosystem. 

Therefore, it is crucial that we teach our students about these amazing creatures and how they live.

The bee life cycle craft is a hands-on activity that allows students to explore the different stages of a bee’s life cycle, from egg to adult. 

By creating their own bees and bee life cycle models, they can see first hand how these insects develop and grow.

How to introduce the bee life cycle 

The bee life cycle craft is a hands-on activity that allows students to explore the different stages of a bee’s life cycle, from egg to adult. 

By creating their own bees and bee life cycle models, they can see firsthand how these insects develop and grow.

To get started, gather some basic materials such as paper, scissors, glue, and markers. 

You may also want to have some additional materials on hand such as pipe cleaners, cotton balls, and tissue paper.

First, introduce the bee life cycle to your students, explaining the different stages in detail.

Then, distribute the materials and guide your students through creating their own bee life cycle models. 

You can encourage them to be as creative as possible and allow them to express themselves through their designs.

For example, they can create a 3D model of the bee life cycle, where each stage of the cycle is represented by a different level of the model. 

Or, they can make paper cutouts of the different stages and attach them to a timeline or a poster board.

More bee life cycle craft ideas 

One idea for a bee life cycle craft is to use paper plates to create a layered model of the bee life cycle. 

Students can draw or paint each stage of the cycle on a separate plate and then stack them on top of each other to create a 3D model.

Another idea is to use cotton balls and tissue paper to create a soft, textured model of the bee life cycle. 

Students can glue the cotton balls together to create the different stages of the cycle and then use tissue paper to create the wings and antennae.

Below, you will see the exact steps to create this bee life cycle craft. The template is also at the end of the post. 

What is the life cycle of a bee

The life cycle of a bee is a fascinating process that involves four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Let’s take a closer look at each stage:

Egg: The bee’s life cycle begins when the queen bee lays an egg. The eggs are tiny, about the size of a grain of rice, and are laid in the honeycomb cells.

Larva: The egg hatches into a larva after about three days.

The larva is a small, white, grub-like creature that feeds on royal jelly, a nutrient-rich secretion produced by the worker bees. 

The larva grows quickly and molts its skin several times during this stage.

Pupa: After about a week, the larva spins a cocoon around itself and enters the pupa stage. 

Inside the cocoon, the bee undergoes a metamorphosis, growing wings, legs, and other body parts. 

During this stage, the bee does not eat and is completely dependent on its stored nutrients.

Adult: After about two weeks, the adult bee emerges from the cocoon. 

The bee is fully developed, with all of its body parts, and is ready to start its life as a worker bee, drone, or queen bee. 

The entire life cycle from egg to adult takes about three weeks for worker bees, a little longer for drones, and 16 days for queen bees.

Bee life cycle craft step by step

The materials you will need for this craft are:

• Yellow stock paper
• White Stock paper
• Black Stock paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pencil
• Black marker

Step 2: use the cut outs provided in the template below to cut out the shapes provided.

Step 3 Cut out a zig zag section of yellow tape as shown below.

Step 4 Cut out the shapes with black board paper and then glue onto the body of the bee.

Step 5 Cut out the life cycle of a bee pictures and then glue them onto the pieces to attach to the body as shown below.

Step 6 Attach the paper life cycle onto each part of the bee from side to side.

And there you have it – a super fun bee life cycle craft!

Get the printable template below.

Bee Life Cycle Craft Template

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