Life Cycle of Butterfly Ms Hernandez August 30

Life Cycle of Butterfly Ms. Hernandez August 30, 2011

Metamorphis – Life Cycle of Butterflies • Eggs are first stage. • They are tiny, sometimes microscopic. • Laid on the underside of host plant leaves. • Hatching predetermined by time eggs are laid

Caterpillars – the feeding stage • Minute, some virtually invisible to naked eye • Coloration of caterpillar is quite diverse. Job of caterpillar is to eat, eat. • Caterpillars must shed skin several times, each shedding called an instar • Can multiply in size more than a thousand fold • When final instar occurs, pupa emerges.

Pupa - the transition stage • Transformation in pupa stage is miraculous. • What emerges in no way resembles the caterpillar. • Complete disassembly of the cells and reassembling of cells into new form. • The butterfly emerges from this stage.

Adult Butterfly – the reproductive stage • Upon emerging, the swollen body pumps fluid into tiny shrived up wings. • Within a few hours, wings are full sized, dried, and become more rigid. • Butterflies are ready to take flight. • The job of the adult is to mate and lay eggs. • Most live only one or two weeks All photographs courtesy of The Academy of Natural Sciences http: //www. ansp. org/museum/butterflies/lif e_cycle. php