Stage 1: The Egg
A butterfly lays an egg on a special plant called a Milkweed. It will lay up to 700 eggs in a range of 2-5 weeks.
Stage 2: The Caterpillar
After 2 weeks, what should hatch, but a Monarch Caterpillar! This is the baby Butterfly, or Larvae (pronounced lava). When it hatches it is very hungry, and will eat anything in sight, including the egg.As it eats, it will become 270,000 times it's original weight!
This will force it to shed it's skin. But don't worry. There's always another skin underneath! The average Caterpillar will do this about six times.
Stage 3: The Pupa (Chrysalis)
After shedding all of it's skins, the Caterpillar will curl up in the shape of a j. It will now shed it's skin one last time, except instead of the skin falling off, it will turn inside-out. The skin will climb up the larvae until it has formed a sort of protective hard shell around the larvae. A butterfly will slowly form, and as it does so, the pupa, or chrysalis, will become thinner and more transparent, until it splits.
Stage 4: TheCaterpillar Butterfly
It cannot fly yet as it's wings are wet from the skin, but once it has dried them in the sun it will fly away...
So that is the Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle! Butterflys are so amazing!
Joshua Cross
Takahe
This will force it to shed it's skin. But don't worry. There's always another skin underneath! The average Caterpillar will do this about six times.
Stage 3: The Pupa (Chrysalis)
After shedding all of it's skins, the Caterpillar will curl up in the shape of a j. It will now shed it's skin one last time, except instead of the skin falling off, it will turn inside-out. The skin will climb up the larvae until it has formed a sort of protective hard shell around the larvae. A butterfly will slowly form, and as it does so, the pupa, or chrysalis, will become thinner and more transparent, until it splits.
Stage 4: The
It cannot fly yet as it's wings are wet from the skin, but once it has dried them in the sun it will fly away...
So that is the Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle! Butterflys are so amazing!
Joshua Cross
Takahe
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