- EGGS
Every year, the Monarch butterfly lays
eggs on the leaves of milkweed plants
(because that’s what the babies
like to eat). In around four days’ time...- CATERPILLAR
... little caterpillars (also called larvae)
hatch, and spend most of their time munching
on leaves. Yum, yum! It takes them around two
weeks to become adult caterpillars, after which
they shed their skin a number of times before
they are ready to find an attractive twig or
leaf, create some silk and use it to
attach themselves to it in order to become a pupa.
Nature
Yum,
yum!!TRANSFORMERS: METAMORPHOSIS
How does the Monarch butterfly grow from a little egg into a majestic insect?
- PUPA
The caterpillar enters a
chrysalis stage. This is a particularly
cool time because, even though you
can’t see what’s happening from the
outside, inside his little cocoon the
caterpillar is busy changing completely. It’s
called a metamorphosis – he is developing
beautiful wings and shedding the old
body parts he no longer needs. This
takes somewhere between 10
and 14 days.
250
The number of eggs they
can lay per day.0.5g
Their average weight.5 minutes
The time it takes a hungry little
caterpillar to polish off a
milkweed leaf.The Monarch butterfly does
not have lungs. He breathes
through little vents on his
tummy called spiracles.DID YOU KNOW?
These butterflies can see UV
light that humans cannot.DID YOU KNOW?
Butterflies use a ‘straw’ called a proboscis to drink
water and nectar. They roll it up under their heads
when they aren’t using it.