Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Butterflies are among some of the most beautiful insects with a life cycle that consists of four stages. The butterfly has to go through these four stages of growth to before it can become an adult. These stages of development are referred to as the life cycle of the butterfly. The transformation stages of the butterfly include the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult butterfly.
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Egg
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The adult female butterfly lays very tiny eggs in sets of 10 to 100 on the leaf or plant that the caterpillar needs to feed from. Various species of butterflies need a specific type of leaf or plant for the caterpillar to feed on after the egg hatches. The larva or caterpillar grows inside the egg. Butterfly eggs usually take between five and 10 days to hatch.
Catepillar or Larva
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After the egg is hatched, the caterpillar or larva emerges and looks like a very small worm. The caterpillar usually instantaneously starts looking for food to eat. It eats perpetually and can devour more food than its weight in just a day; this causes a lot of damage to vegetation. It takes three weeks for the larva to change into a chrysalis.
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Chrysalis or Pupa
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When the caterpillar is fully grown, it goes through a pupation stage and becomes a chrysalis or pupa. At this stage the caterpillar attaches itself to a branch, hangs upside-down, sheds its last layer of skin and forms a protective hard stretchy shell and becomes a chrysalis. The chrysalis does not feed during this stage and, after two to three weeks, turns into an adult butterfly.
Chrysalis Transforms
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The chrysalis becomes transparent before the butterfly emerges and the wing pattern becomes evident as the transformation takes place. The butterfly pumps blood into the head and thorax, which swell and this causes the shell to crack. The chrysalis opens as the adult butterfly forces its way out of the shell.
Butterfly Emerges
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The fully developed butterfly breaks through the chrysalis casing with wet wrinkled wings. It pushes blood into the wings to strengthen it and, as the wings expand they become dry. This is a very short process. After the wings are dried, the butterfly can fly away.
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References
- Photo Credit Butterfly image by solemnity from Fotolia.com
