In the early years at school, the butterfly is often explored in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and the children enjoy learning about its life cycle. Maths is involved in the passage of time as the caterpillar moves from each phase of the life cycle to the next and the children enjoy counting how much food the caterpillar eats on each day. The butterfly is then often used as one of the first tools to describe symmetry to young children, which they can explore through different art and design projects. When we look at the beauty of nature, shown in the symmetry of the butterflies' wings, it makes this concept of symmetry simple for children to understand. Yet, the butterfly and its relationship with symmetry has much more to convey to us. By understanding this simple symmetry, which occurs naturally in biology, this is the first step to understanding invariance. This can then lead to understanding concepts in calculus, algebra and statistics. The beauty of the butterfly clearly shows the links between maths, nature and beyond.
