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The adult female butterfly lays and egg which is fertilized by the male. The butterfly will lay the egg on a preffered host plant, the swan plant sometimes known as milkweed.
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The egg is laid on the swanplant.
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The egg hatches into a tiny catepillar also known as a larva.
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The caterpillar eats and grows a tremendous amount
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Caterpillar attaches itself to a twig and froms a hard outer shell. Inside the chrysillis also known as a pupa the caterpillar changes into a vutterfly. It sometimes camoflagues itself to protect it from predators.
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An adult butterfly emerges from the chrysillis. Monarch butterflies do not live for a long period of time. They cannot eat, only drink through their straw like Proboscis. They fly, mate and reproduce and the cycle begins again.
