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CHAPTER ONE
Life Cycles
There are millions of different species of animal in the
world. Some animals, like the blue whale, are very big. Others
are so small that we almost can't see them. These animals all
have very different life cycles.

Animal Groups
Scientists put animals into groups. The animals in each
group are the same in many ways, and they often have very
similar life cycles. The two biggest animal groups are
invertebrates and vertebrates.
Invertebrates are animals that have no backbone. More
than 95% of the animal species in the world are invertebrates,
and most of them are very small. There are many different
groups of invertebrates. The biggest group is called arthropods.
Insects, spiders, and animals like crabs that have a hard shell,
are all arthropods.
Animals that have a backbone are called vertebrates. Only
a few percent of the animals in the world are vertebrates, and
most of them are much bigger than invertebrates. Because of
this, we see vertebrates more often than invertebrates.
Scientists put vertebrates into five big groups - they are called
fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
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Staying Alive
All animals need to find food to stay alive. Some animals
are carnivores. This means that they eat other animals.
Herbivores eat plants, and omnivores eat plants and animals.
There are many dangers for animals. They have to keep
safe from predators - animals that hunt and eat other animals.
People hunt birds and other animals. People also cut down
trees and build houses and roads on land. When they do this,
animals lose their homes and their food. Many animals also
become sick or die because of pollution of the land, oceans,
rivers, and air. Life is very dangerous for animals. Many
animals die before they are old enough to produce young.
Different animals live for different amounts of time. A
Galapagos tortoise can live for 150 years, but an adult mayfly
usually lives for just a few hours.

Breeding
Most species of animal have males and females. Males
produce sperm, and females produce eggs. Baby animals are
made when sperm from the male joins together with an egg
from the female. This is called fertilization.
Some animals give birth to baby animals. Other animals,
like reptiles and birds, lay eggs. Their babies hatch - they break
the egg open and come out.
Most reptiles and birds care for their babies. Most insects
and fish do not care for their eggs or their babies. All mammals
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care for their babies and feed them milk. Some big mammals
stay with their babies for many years.
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CHAPTER TWO
Insects
Insects are small animals like butterflies, beetles, flies,
bees, and ants. There are more than a million species of insect
in the world. Many insects change in amazing ways during
their life.

Larvae and Nymphs

Almost all insects start their life in an egg. The young
insect grows inside the egg and then it hatches. Some baby
insects, like bees, look very different from their parents. These
baby insects are called larvae. Other baby insects, like locusts,
look more like their parents. These baby insects are called
nymphs. Larvae and nymphs are very small when they hatch.

Growing Up
A young insect eats a lot of food and grows very quickly.
It has a hard cover, called an exoskeleton. When the
exoskeleton is too small for the young insect, it breaks open
and comes off. A new exoskeleton grows under the old one.
This is called molting.
Some insects grow wings that get bigger every time they
molt. After the insect molts for the last time, it becomes an
adult that can fly and produce young. This is called incomplete
metamorphosis.
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Most insects change by complete metamorphosis. When

the larva is ready to change into an adult, its exoskeleton comes
off. Under the exoskeleton there's a pupa - it's like a closed
case. Inside the pupa, an amazing change happens. The larva
changes into an adult that looks completely different!

Finding a Mate
When insects become adults, they are ready to breed and
produce young. First they need to find a mate. Male crickets,
cicadas, and grasshoppers sing to find females that they can
mate with.
Female butterflies and moths produce special chemicals
called pheromones that have a strong smell. Male butterflies
and moths can smell the pheromones from up to 2 kilometers
away. They then fly toward the smell.
Male fireflies make special lights in their body. They turn
these lights on and off so that female fireflies know that they
are looking for a mate.

Laying Eggs
Some insects only lay a few eggs during their life, but
others lay thousands. Many insects are careful to keep their
eggs safe. The cardinal beetle makes a hole in dead wood and
lays her eggs inside. When the eggs hatch, you can't see the
larvae very well. Cockroaches lay their eggs in a special case,
and beetle eggs are usually yellow, green, or black so that they
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are camouflaged. When these insect eggs hatch, the life cycle
starts again!
Termite queens lay up to 30,000 eggs every day!
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CHAPTER THREE
Other Invertebrates
There are many other groups of invertebrate, and they all
have very different life cycles. Did you know that earthworms,
octopuses, spiders, and lobsters are all invertebrates?

Earthworms
All earthworms lay eggs, because they are
hermaphrodites. This means that they all have male parts that
produce sperm and female parts that produce eggs, but they
cannot fertilize their own eggs. After earthworms mate, their
bodies make special rings with eggs inside. The ring moves
forward over the worm's body and then it comes off. Then the
ends of the ring join together. The eggs hatch after about three
months, and young earthworms can mate when they are 12
months old.

Octopuses
Baby octopuses live in the open ocean at first, but when
they grow, they move down to the bottom of the ocean. Here
they live on their own in dens.
Octopuses are ready to mate when they are one or two
years old. Some female octopuses lay about 200,000 eggs, and
many put them in strings from the top of their dens. The
females keep the eggs safe from predators and they carefully
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push water over them so that they get enough oxygen. The
octopuses do not eat for up to ten months when they are caring
for their eggs. After the eggs hatch, the female octopuses die.

Spiders
Spiders produce silk, and they use it to make webs, where
they catch flies and other insects. Most species of spider also
put lots of silk around their eggs to make a special cover, called
a cocoon.
Most spider eggs hatch after a few days or weeks. The
baby spiders, or spider lings, grow fast and they molt a few
times. They can soon make their own webs and catch their own
food.
Many spiders die after they lay their eggs. Some spider
lings eat their mother's body after she dies!

Lobsters
A female lobster can lay up to 10,000 eggs, but only
about ten of them will live. The female lobster carries her eggs
hidden under her tail for almost a year. When they are ready to
hatch, she lifts her tail and they float away.
When the eggs hatch, the larvae move to the top of the
ocean. Life here is very dangerous because of predators and
difficult currents. Lobster larvae look very different from adult
lobsters. When they are about one month old, the larvae move
to the bottom of the ocean. They molt about 25 times before
they become adults.
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Lobsters often eat their old shell after molting. This helps
their new shell to become hard.
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CHAPTER FOUR
Fish
Fish are vertebrates that are cold-blooded. This means
that their body is as hot or cold as the water around them. All
fish live and breathe in water, and most baby fish hatch from
eggs.

Eggs
Female fish can lay hundreds of eggs. Inside every egg
there's a bag of food called the yolk. The unborn baby fish eats
the yolk, so that it can grow bigger and stronger.
Fish often try to hide their eggs because many other
animals like to eat fish eggs. Female seahorses lay their eggs
into a special pouch on the male's front, where they stay safe
until they are ready to hatch.
Some species of shark lay their eggs in a hard egg case to
keep the eggs safe until they hatch.

Young Fish
When young fish hatch, the yolk bag is still stuck to their
body. The young fish use this as food at first.
Life is very dangerous for young fish. Most of them don't
have fins, so they can't swim well. They often float into colder
water or places where there's no food. Also, many predators,
like seals, birds, frogs, and other fish, hunt them. This is why
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fish lay so many eggs. A large female tuna fish can lay up to six
million eggs at one time, but only about two of these will grow
into adult tuna!

Growing Up
Most fish never see their parents because they swim away
after they have laid their eggs. The young fish have to find food
for themselves so that they can grow bigger. They eat small
plants and insect eggs or larvae.
Most small fish grow into adults just a few months after
hatching, but whale sharks do not grow into adults until they
are 25 years old!
The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world. An adult
whale shark can be about 12 meters long and it can weigh more
than 21 metric tons.

Breeding
Fish need to find mates so that they can breed. When the
male three-spined stickleback is ready to breed, he builds a
nest.
Part of his body changes to a red color. Females see his
bright colors and they lay their eggs in his nest.
Many fish go back to the same place to breed every year.
Salmon live in the ocean, but to breed, they swim back to the
rivers where they hatched. Some salmon travel hundreds of
kilometers up rivers, and sometimes they have to jump up
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waterfalls. They change color from silver to red when they are
swimming back to their breeding places.
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CHAPTER FIVE
Amphibians
Like fish, amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates. Most
amphibians live for some of their life in water and for some of
their life on land. Salamanders, toads, and frogs are all
amphibians.

Metamorphosis
All amphibians have two different parts of life. At first
they are larvae that breathe in water through special gills. Then
they change into adults with lungs. This change is called
metamorphosis. Usually, amphibians live in water for the first
part of their life and on land for the second part. Some
salamanders live in water all the time.

Eggs and Larvae

Amphibians often lay thousands of eggs. The eggs have a
sticky cover, and they float in water. Most amphibians do not
care for their eggs, but the male midwife toad carries them on
his back until they are ready to hatch.
The young that hatch from eggs are called larvae, but
young frogs and toads are also called tadpoles. At first,
tadpoles don't have legs or feet and they breathe through gills.
It's easy for predators to catch and eat eggs and tadpoles. Frogs
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can lay about 2,000 eggs, but probably only 5% live to become
adults.
The male Darwin's frog keeps his tadpoles safe and wet in
his throat, until they are big enough to swim away.

Becoming Adults
When amphibians begin to change into adults, they grow
lungs inside their body and their gills close. At the same time,
most amphibians grow legs and feet.
An adult frog looks completely different from a tadpole!
Most adult amphibians can breathe through their skin and
their lungs! They can only breathe through their skin if it's wet,
so most amphibians live near water.
Amphibians are cold-blooded, so when it gets very cold
they have no energy. Some amphibians in colder countries
hibernate for the winter. They hide in a safe, wet place and go
into a special, long sleep.

Breeding
Most amphibians go to wet places like ponds, lakes, or
rivers to breed, because their eggs and larvae live in water.
Many go back to the same place every year, and some go back
to the pond or stream where they were born. Male frogs croak
and shout to tell the females that they are ready to breed. They
push their throats out so that their calls are louder. When the
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female has chosen a mate, she lays her eggs in the water, and
the male covers them with sperm.
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CHAPTER SIX
Reptiles
Reptiles are cold-blooded, and their skin is dry and
covered with special scales. Lizards, snakes, crocodiles,
alligators, and turtles are all reptiles. Some live on land and
some live in water.

Eggs
Most reptiles hatch from eggs, but a few are born as
living animals. Females lay their eggs in a warm, wet place.
They usually lay a lot of eggs, but many eggs are eaten by
predators. Most reptiles lay their eggs and then they leave
them, but pythons put their body around their eggs to keep
them warm. Alligators make a big nest from mud and leaves.
They lay their eggs and stay near the nest. They don't eat for
weeks when they are keeping their eggs safe.

Growing Up
Crocodiles and alligators are very good parents after their
eggs hatch. The female Nile crocodile is very careful - she puts
her babies inside her mouth to carry them to water. She stays
near them to keep them safe for up to two months.
When snakes and lizards grow, they get too big for their
skin. The old skin comes off and there's a new one underneath.
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This is called sloughing. Most snakes lose their old skin three
or four times every year.

Breeding
When reptiles are ready to breed, they have to find a
mate. Male crocodiles lift their head up and make a loud sound.
They also blow bubbles in the water so that females will see
and hear them. Snakes find their mate by smell. The females
leave a special smell that the male follows. Other male reptiles,
like monitor lizards, fight each other for a mate. The females
choose the winner of the fight because he's the strongest.
Some whiptail lizards can produce young without mating!
The eggs are not fertilized, but they still hatch.

Keeping Safe
Reptiles are in danger from many predators, and they
have lots of ways of keeping safe. If a predator catches a lizard
by its tail, the lizard can break its tail off and escape. It then
grows a new tail. The stinkpot turtle makes a horrible smell
from its legs to make predators go away. Many reptiles also use
camouflage to keep safe. Some chameleons can change color
so that predators do not see them, and the leaf-tailed gecko can
hide easily because its body looks like a leaf.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
Birds
There are about 9,000 different species of bird, and they
all lay eggs. Baby birds called chicks come from eggs. Birds
are the only animals that have feathers. All birds have wings
and most birds can fly.

Courtship
Courtship is when male birds try to find female birds that
they can mate with. Male birds do many different things to find
a mate. Some males show females their colors. The male
frigate bird pushes his red throat out like a balloon. The blue-
footed booby shows his big blue feet.
Songbirds sing for their females, and the bower bird
builds a special place with twigs and puts bright colored things
in it so that it looks pretty.

Nests
Birds work very hard to build nests - special homes where
they can keep their eggs and chicks safe and warm. They find
grass, mud, and twigs, and they push them together. Many
birds build nests in high places like trees and cliffs. Others
build them on the ground. These birds are usually brown and
speckled, so they are well camouflaged.
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Eggs
The female bird lays her eggs in the nest. Then the female
or the male sits on the eggs to keep them warm. When the
chick is ready to hatch, it breaks the shell with a special 'tooth'
on its beak.
Cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests. When the
baby cuckoo hatches, it pushes the other eggs or chicks out of
the nest so that it can have more food. It often grows much,
much bigger than the adult bird that is feeding it!
Ostrich eggs are the biggest bird eggs, and they can
weight about 2 kilograms. If you stand on one, it will not
break!

Chicks
Many chicks have no feathers, and they can't see or move
when they hatch, but some can run, swim, and find food. Birds
feed their chicks and keep them safe until they can care for
themselves. Birds often have to fly to and from the nest
hundreds of times a day to bring enough food for their chicks.

Growing Up
Some small birds can fly just two weeks after they hatch,
but bigger birds take longer. Chicks watch their parents and
learn to fly, feed, sing, and keep safe. Some baby birds do not
become adults for months or even years.
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Many birds that migrate every year have to make long,

dangerous journeys when they are still very young. These birds
fly to warmer places for winter and come back to their breeding
places for summer.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
Mammals
All mammals have fur or hair and they produce milk to
feed their babies. Giraffes, bears, kangaroos, elephants, and
people are all mammals.

Breeding
It's usually the female mammals who choose a mate, so
the males want the females to look at them. Leopards make
marks on trees with their claws so that the females will know
they are there. Other animals make special smells.
Males often fight with each other to win a mate. Male
giraffes fight with their head and neck to show which animal is
the strongest.

Having Babies
Most mammals do not lay eggs. The babies grow inside
the mother's body, and they get food and oxygen from a special
part of the body called the placenta. This is called gestation.
The gestation time for shrews is only two weeks, but for
African elephants it's 22 months!
When mammals are ready to have their babies, many look
for safe, quiet places. Polar bears dig special dens in the snow
so that their babies will be warm and safe.
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Baby Mammals
Some baby mammals grow a lot inside their mother's
body, and they can stand up as soon as they are born. Other
baby mammals can't see or move when they are born.
Mammals produce milk for their babies, and this is the only
food or drink that they need at first.

Marsupials
Marsupials are animals like kangaroos and koalas. Baby
marsupials only grow for a short time inside their mother's
body. After they are born, they continue to grow on the outside
of their mother's body, usually in a pouch. Baby kangaroos are
only 5 centimeters long when they are born. They climb into
their mother's pouch, where they stay for up to a year.

Growing Up
Mammals are different from many other types of animal
because they feed and care for their babies. Anteaters carry
their babies on their back for the first year, and elephants stay
near their mother until they are ten years old. Baby mammals
learn from their parents, and they learn by playing, too.

Life Cycles
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Life is very dangerous for a lot of animals. Many are

killed by predators. Also, people hunt them and damage their
habitats - the places where they live.
Many animals die before they become adults, but if they
grow up, then they can produce young. This is all part of their
life cycle. Because of this, there will always be millions of
species of animal on Earth, if we care for them and their
habitats.

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