Butterflies are beloved insects that captivate with their vibrant wings. However, butterflies also undergo an amazing metamorphosis process, one of the main ways biologists define life.
A butterfly begins its life as an egg, developing into a caterpillar or larva before eating and shedding its skin several times until finally reaching its final form – the chrysalis.
Caterpillar
Once fertilized butterfly eggs hatch into larva, they transform into caterpillars that feed voraciously on plants, eating many times their own weight in food sources. Although the caterpillar has small eyes, short legs, antennae, and antennae compared with adult insects’ wings, long legs, genitalia etc – their bodies still contain bundles of cells ready to transform into wings, long legs, genitalia etc – hidden away within its plump body are bundles of cells called “imaginal discs”, which remain dormant due to juvenile hormone production throughout its lifecycle.
As the caterpillar matures, it undergoes metamorphosis. Each time its skin sheds, ecdysone hormone causes it to grow larger and prepare for pupation – at which point, the caterpillar stops eating, hangs upside down from a branch or leaf and either spins silk cocoons or forms chrysalis structures that consist of hardened membranes surrounded by fluid soup; once inside its cocoon or chrysalis structures it gradually transforms itself into adult insects while its imaginal discs begin developing freely as part of this process.
Before becoming ready to pupate, a caterpillar may molt as many as five times, each instar taking longer to reach than its predecessor.
Once a caterpillar has completed four or five molts, it moves on to find an ideal location in which to form its chrysalis. It may choose an area on a branch, grass blades or among stones; then attaches itself via silk pad to secure its position before hanging up its chrysalis upside-down from there; this process resembles how telephone linesmen put up lines.
Once the chrysalis is broken open, a fully grown butterfly emerges with soft wings which gradually expand through haemolymph generated by its muscles. Drying and stretching may take two hours before finally taking flight!
Chrysalis
At the conclusion of its larval life, butterflies develop chrysalises. This hard casing often features bright green and gold colors and looks similar to a caterpillar’s exoskeleton. Although often confused with cocoons, chrysalises aren’t moth cocoons; rather they belong exclusively to butterflies and other insects.
Inside its chrysalis, an insect undergoes a process known as holometabolism to undergo transformation. Enzymes dissolve its old exoskeleton, while cells that make up its body reorganize themselves into new shapes using adhesive cells called Imaginal disks that will become its wings, legs and antennae as an adult butterfly emerges from this stage of development.
The chrysalis is filled with fluid that helps the imaginal disks form into new bodies and grow within. Once transformed, these disks attach themselves to the inside of the chrysalis and the skin of the caterpillar is shed for good; leaving behind only its protective covering of 10-14 days later.
While its wings are crumpled and need to be filled with blood in order to straighten out. As the butterfly sits upside-down in its chrysalis, its legs will still be cramped preventing flight. To help this process along, blood will need to be injected directly into its veins so its wings can straighten out more fully and take flight.
After five to twenty one days, the chrysalis changes color and becomes transparent, signaling its readiness. At that point, a butterfly emerges through a small crack and starts its journey toward freedom from its cocoon.
Once a butterfly has warmed up, they stretch their wings down over their body to straighten out, pumping more blood into them so they can straighten more efficiently. After several hours have passed they wait for them to harden before taking flight and flying away from its home territory.
Eggs
The egg is an intriguing part of the butterfly life cycle. Beginning its life on either its host plant or a special “nurse” plant, its journey culminates in becoming a fully grown butterfly. A butterfly’s transformation takes four stages: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult. All four look unique!
As with chicken eggs, butterfly eggs also possess protective shells that encase nourishing yolks that provide nutrition to their embryo. While most chicken eggs are typically round in shape and size, most butterfly species’ eggs vary considerably in shape and size – their outer layers may be smooth or textured with flat or round surfaces and colors ranging from yellow, white, or green hues; additionally some may feature spines or ribs within or even be filled with growths that provide further nourishment to the developing embryo inside.
Dependent upon its species, a butterfly’s egg period can last from several days to three weeks before hatching and newly emerged caterpillars begin feeding voraciously. Caterpillars grow quickly during this stage as their bodies expand quickly enough that their skin must shed to accommodate for this rapid development. Throughout these different instars or phases of development they shed skin as their bodies continue expanding – each instar shedding off to accommodate for their expanding bodies.
Once a caterpillar reaches adulthood, it stops eating and transforms into a pupa, which may last from several weeks up to two years depending on its species of butterfly and environment. Mourning Cloak butterflies for instance may spend six months or longer as pupae before emerging into their final stage – the chrysalis stage.
A chrysalis is a cocoon made of silk that protects caterpillars until they develop into butterflies. A chrysalis can be found hanging from branches, hidden among leaves or even underground.
An infant caterpillar will feed on its eggshell as soon as it hatches, as well as eating parts of the plant where it was laid. After five instars have passed and skin has been shed at each new stage, an adult butterfly emerges ready to embark upon its life of flight.
Adult
Once a caterpillar completes its transformation into a pupa, it moves to a safe location to await its transformation into an adult butterfly or moth. This process may last from days or weeks up to several months; why a butterfly doesn’t look the same is due to metamorphosis – an amazing process by which animals go through the stages they did as larvae before emerging as adult forms; similar to how baby lions differ greatly from their parents!
At this stage, the caterpillar’s body begins to disassemble and reform into wings, eyes and legs of an adult butterfly. Specialized cells present within its cells have begun multiplying rapidly to help its new owner fly, feed and survive.
Once an adult butterfly emerges from its chrysalis or pupa stage, its wings may still be wrinkled and wet; pumping fluid through veins in its wings helps them stretch to their adult size before hardening to enable flight.
An adult butterfly’s primary mission in life is to drink nectar, avoid being eaten and mate. Thanks to its fast metabolism, butterflies can metabolize as much as one pound of food daily! Furthermore, perfume glands on their feet emit perfumed scents to attract potential mates or visual signals such as wing patterns and colors can serve as cues that could signal success when courtship begins.
As it flies, a butterfly collects salts and nutrients from mud puddles or wet sandy areas. Additionally, they sip liquid from these pools to keep themselves moist and cool; when hot conditions arise they’ll seek shade before lying in the mud to cool off further. Researchers speculate that butterflies are drawn to muddy puddles due to the high concentrations of calcium and magnesium found there; male and female pairs will then mate by joining end to end abdomens before exchanging sperm between them resulting in fertilized eggs laid by female butterflies which then lay further along this cycle of fertility before returning back out for another round of fertilisation by female butterflies once male and female pairs come together, this process continues until eventually fertilized eggs will be laid by female butterflies then passing sperm back and start another cycle begins again – with male and female butterflies pairs doing it all over again until eventually another cycle will start off again!