Start teaching your students about the majestic butterfly lifecycle by sharing books like Madison and Hawkes’ Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly or The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Once a caterpillar has shed its skin four times, it enters its third stage: larva or pupal stage. Here it finds shelter and builds its protective covering called chrysalis.
Egg
Most butterflies and moths experience complete metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to pupa to butterfly. Each species has a specific life cycle which typically comprises four stages – egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa and adulthood. While some species complete one cycle annually while others complete multiple cycles simultaneously.
Beginning their lifecycles, butterfly life cycles begin with female butterflies depositing their tiny, round eggs onto leaves using chemical receptors on their feet to locate one that provides enough nutrition for her offspring to eat when they hatch. After depositing these eggs on leaves, it typically takes only several days until their hatchlings emerge from them.
As soon as an egg hatches, a larva emerges–an insect’s juvenile, worm-like form. As this insect consumes leaves of its host plant to feed on it and grow larger each day, its size will steadily increase as its skin sheds several times as it progresses through development. After several weeks have passed it is ready to transform into a pupa stage depending on species it may hang from branches by silk threads attached to buttons, burrow into soil, or simply become enclosed in protective cocoon made of silk and other materials encasing special cells rapidly which will later form legs wings eyes and other parts that will later form into butterflies.
Once an adult butterfly emerges from its chrysalis, its soft wings are folded tightly against its body for a period of rest before they must be filled with blood over several hours to stiffen and expand to their full size. After this rest period has concluded, the butterfly can take flight and search for a mate.
Caterpillar
After female butterflies or moths lay their eggs on plants, larvae commonly known as caterpillars hatch and begin growing rapidly. Feeding constantly on plant materials, these larvae consume enough food to reach around 1000 times their initial size before it undergoes metamorphosis, or transformation, and become adults.
As soon as a caterpillar becomes too large to fit inside its skin, they shed it through a process known as molting. This usually happens four or five times during larval stage; once full-grown they find a safe spot where they pupal stage will take place; some moth caterpillars spin silk cocoons while butterflies form hard flexible cases called chrysalises to protect themselves as they go through important transformations.
As it chrysalises, the caterpillar cannot move. Instead, digestive juices release and break down most of its cells into an unorganized mass; but certain highly organized groups of cells survive, giving rise to wings, legs, eyes, mouthparts and genitalia on emerging butterflies or moths.
A chrysalis is typically dull brown or black in color; some can also be shiny and vibrantly hued. A chrysalis offers protection and safety to caterpillars while they undergo transformation into adult butterflies or moths; this transformation process typically takes anywhere between one week and one year depending on species of butterfly or moth.
As it makes its journey from caterpillar to adulthood, chrysalis caterpillars may begin pumping fluid into their wings as part of the development process – this helps prepare them to fly when it emerges as an adult butterfly from its cocoon.
Once a butterfly or moth emerges from its chrysalis, its wings start moving, signaling that it is ready to fly away!
After the butterfly or moth has flown away, they’re ready to find a mate and continue the cycle of life. If their partner is female, she will lay more eggs to continue life’s cycle; for male mates searching for places to mate as well as making its own chrysalis for overwintering in spring or summer will initiate new beginnings in their cycle of life.
Chrysalis
A butterfly’s chrysalis is its last stage before evolving into an adult insect, serving as its final resting place before it emerges into adulthood. Resembling a hard case that blends in with its surroundings while protecting it from predators, its hard shell is filled with liquid that allows its contents to help develop new wings and body parts for its transformation into adulthood. Though trapped inside, butterflies can wiggle their legs to allow air in and out as their change takes place into adults.
After the caterpillar has shed its skin four or five times, it is ready to transform into either a moth or butterfly. After searching out a safe location and molting one more time, they find an inner case to attach with silk glands to a leaf using their silk glands, known as pupa stage. Moth caterpillars spin silk to form cocoons during this stage while butterfly caterpillars form either chrysalises or pod-like structures similar to cocoons during this phase.
At this stage, insects release digestive juices to dissolve most of their cells and allow specialized cells to start creating wings, eyes, mouthparts and genitalia for their adult form. Full development may take up to three weeks after beginning from pupal stage.
Once the butterfly has completed its transformation into an adult, it can begin its journey. While on its journey it must feed to replenish its energy reserves before beginning its own reproductive journey by laying eggs of its own.
A butterfly’s head contains two antennae and palpi that help it smell, taste and grasp plant surfaces. At its rear lies a straw-like proboscis that feeds off liquid foods for sustenance.
An abdomen of a butterfly contains two pairs of wings used for flight. When not flying, these wings lie flat against the thorax and are held together by muscle fibers.
Adult
At the final stage of butterfly life cycles lies the adult stage. Male and female butterflies seek out compatible partners of their species so that offspring from both can continue the family lineage. Once mated, females lay eggs under leaves where the eggs hatch into worm-like larvae that feed on food sources before periodically molting out (known as moulting). After some time has passed they form hard protective shells known as chrysalises or pupae which protect them until metamorphosis takes place and metamorphoses begins and transforms into butterflies!
Transformation takes place within a chrysalis, where chemicals released by caterpillars break down their body tissues into a soupy mass that reforms into an adult butterfly through apolysis. Within its chrysalis, caterpillars also release special cells known as imaginal discs which will become the wings, antennae and more of the butterfly that emerges later on.
As soon as a chrysalis is ready, a caterpillar triggers its prothoracicotropic hormone and releases it, prompting it to stop eating and move to a safe location away from its host plant in order to form its chrysalis. Once formed, this cocoon remains suspended until it’s time for it to emerge as a butterfly.
After several weeks, the caterpillar emerges from its chrysalis and transforms into an adult butterfly, which then flies off in search of a mate and repeats this cycle.
Through an intricate metamorphosis process, a butterfly only lives for about one to two months – but their wings, colors, and behavior make them truly fascinating creatures.
Once a butterfly has mated, it searches for a safe place to lay its eggs under leaves – sometimes up to 100 every season! Their tiny eggs take the shape of bullets, discs or turbans with colors ranging from pearly white through bark brown and rusty red to pearly white again.