-
The Butterfly Lifecycle
All butterflies have "complete metamorphosis" for them to grow into an adult, and so they need to go through four stages. Each stage has a different goal- for instance, caterpillars need to eat alot, and adults need to reproduce. Depending on the type of butterfly, the lifecycle will take anywhere from a month to a whole year. -
The First Stage: The Egg
The butterfly eggs are either small, round, oval, or cylinderical but it depends on what kind of butterfly it is. The buttefly eggs are usually laid on the leaves of plants, so if you want to search for these very tiny eggs, you will have to take some time and examine quite a bit of leaves in order for you find them. -
The Second Stage: The Larvae (Caterpillar)
When the egg finally hatches, the caterpillar will start it's work, and eat the leaf it was born onto. Which is really important because the mother butterfly needs to lay her eggs on the leaves the caterpillars like.They will need to eat and eat so they can grow quite rapidly. As they keep eating they will expand and grow almost instantaneously. Their exoskeleton (skin) doesn't stretch or grow, so they grow by "molting,"which means shedding of the outgrown skin several times while it grows. -
The Third Stage: Pupa
When a caterpillar has reached the full length & weight, they form into a Pupa, also known as a Chrysalis. On the outside of the pupa, it looks like it's resting but the inside it's actually changing expeditiously. Within the chrysalis, the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a phenomenal conversion, which is called "metamorphosis" .The tissue,limbs, & organs of a catepillar are changed by the time the pupa is done.It's time for the final stage of the lifecycle. -
The Fourth Stage: Adult Butterfly
Finally, the caterpillar is done all it's forming & changing inside the pupa.When the butterfly first surfaces from the chrysalis, the wings are soft & folded against its body. That's because the butterfly had to fit all its new parts inside the pupa.Butterflies need rest after coming out so it could fly.They pump blood to its wings so they can fly.Within a 3 or 4 hour period it masters flying & wastes no time looking for a mate to reproduce. That's when the lifecycle starts all over.
