Cocoon articles and Butterfly life cycle Cocoon Tiny Animation Cocoon Animation: Play here a sample piece of above Cocoon animation. The four stages of Butterfly Life Cycle is presented in funny way to entertain children. More animation on insects will be added on Cocoon .Org. Bookmark Cocoon.Org to watch animations. Draw Butterfly in 4 Steps Caterpillar Climb : Tiny Animation Caterpiller Climb Play and watch this bit of animation to know about how the Caterpiller climbing the tree branch for its food. The other eating part of animation of this funny Cater piller can be seen on main animation above. Let us know your comments on all parts of the Cocoon.org animations. Cocoon Video Corner Cocoon to Butterfly. Watch Monarch Butterfly emerging from cocoon, start to finish! It's 5 minutes and 24 seconds long. Eric and Lara have just completed drawing the life cycle of the monarch butterfly in their practical notebook. On the previous day, their biology teacher explained the life history of the monarch. Eric and Lara were all admiration for the butterfly. The monarch undertakes long migrations. It lays eggs on the milk weed. Eggs hatch into caterpillars. The caterpillars eat and grow.

When they mature, they attach themselves to a twig and enter the next stage called the chrysalis. The chrysalis is the most crucial stage in the life history of a butterfly. It is a cocoon inside which the larva undergoes metamorphosis. From the chrysalis emerges the young butterfly..... Home | Cocoon Articles | butterfly articles | cocoon stories | cartoons | coloring | Animations | Bookmark Us | search Contact Us COCOON.ORG Cocoon Articles and Butterfly Life Cycle! Life cycle of the butterfly in Flash Animations including cocoon, larva, pupa, caterpiller and butterfly This site is designed and powered by LaunchSolution.com COCOON.ORG IS DEDICATED FOR WORLD'S BUTTERFLY AND INSECTS STORIES Copy right content. No content is to be copied or produced without prior information to the site administrator. Please Contact for Butterfly site's links on Cocoon.Org. All content is copy righted. Thanks for Visit!. The Lifecycle of a Butterfly The Lifecycle of a Butterfly The Lifecycle of a Butterfly The Lifecycle of a Butterfly Butterflies go through a life cycle. A butterfly has four stages in its life cycle. Each stage is different.

Each stage also has a different goal. A butterfly becoming an adult is called metamorphosis. The life cycle process can take a month to year. It depends on the type of butterfly. Stage 1: Eggs In the first stage a girl butterfly lays eggs. A butterfly first starts out as an egg. A girl butterfly lays the eggs on a leaf. She lays the eggs really close together. The eggs are really small and round. About five days after the eggs are laid. A tiny worm-like creature will hatch from the egg. Stage 2: Caterpillar (Larve) The second stage is the caterpillar. A caterpillar is sometimes called larve. A caterpillar is a long creature. It looks like a worm. Most caterpillars have a cool pattern. This pattern has stripes or patches. The caterpillar is hungry once it has hatched. It starts to eat leaves and flowers. It eats these all the time. It first eats the leaf that it was born on. This is the eating and growing stage. A caterpillar grows really fast. This is because they eat a lot. A caterpillar is really small when it is born. It starts to grow fast. This is because it eats all the time.

It grows so fast that it becomes too big for its skin. So the caterpillar has to shed its old skin. It then gets new skin. Caterpillars shed their skin four or more times while they are growing. A caterpillar shedding its outgrown skin is called molting. Caterpillars do not stay in this stage very long. While they are in this stage, all they do is eat. Stage 3: Chrysalis (Pupa) Stage three is the chrysalis. This is when the caterpillar is done growing. The caterpillar makes a chrysalis. Another name for a chrysalis is a pupa. It is mostly brown or green. It is the same color as the things around it. Things like the trees, leaves, or branches. This is so that other animals cannot see it. This protects them. This keeps them from getting hurt. This is the resting stage. It also is the changing stage. The caterpillar starts to changes. It starts to turn into a butterfly. It starts to look different. Its shape starts to change. It changes quickly. It then turns into a butterfly. All this happens in the chrysalis.

This does not take a long time. Stage 4: Butterly (Adult) (Imago) In stage four, the chrysalis opens. Soon a butterfly comes out. A butterfly is sometimes called an imago. It is also called an adult. Butterflies are very colorful. When the butterfly first comes out its wings are damp. The wings are also soft. The wings are folded against its body. The butterfly is also very tired. So the butterfly rests. Once the butterfly has rested, it will be ready to start flying. It will start to pump blood into its wings. This is to get them working and flapping. After it does this, it can now learn to fly. Butterflies cannot fly good at first. They need a lot of practice. It does not take long for them to learn. They learn fast. When it can fly, it will go look for food. The butterfly will also go look for a mate. It will soon find a mate. It will then lay eggs. The lifecycle will start all over again. Summary Butterflies go through a life cycle. There are four stages. The first stage is the eggs. This is where a girl butterfly lays eggs. She lays them on a leaf.

The second stage is the caterpillar. This is where the eggs hatch. It takes about five days for the eggs to hatch. A caterpillar then comes out. At this stage, the caterpillar eats all the time. It also grows really fast. Once it is all the way grown, the third stage starts. This stage is the chrysalis. The caterpillar makes a chrysalis. The caterpillar is inside the chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, it starts to change. It soon changes into a butterfly. Once the caterpillar has changed into a butterfly, the fourth stage starts. This is also that last stage in the life cycle. The fourth stage is the butterfly. A butterfly comes out of the chrysalis. It can now learn to fly. It can also find a mate. When it finds a mate, it lays eggs. Then the lifecycle process starts all over again. There are many different kinds of butterflies. Here are some different kinds: Monarch: This is the most known butterfly in North America. This butterfly has orange and black wings. In the fall they go to Mexico. Painted Lady: Also called the thistle butterfly. This butterfly is everywhere in North America.

The wings are orange and brown. The tips of its wings have black and white spots. Viceroy: This butterfly is the same color as a Monarch. But it is smaller than a monarch. This butterfly is everywhere in the United States. Red-Spotted Purple: This type of butterfly has many different colors. The top of the wings are blue. There are small red and white dots on the tops of the wings. The bottoms of its wings are a red and brown color. It also has orange spots. This butterfly flies fast. It is hard to catch. They like to sit on rotting fruit. They also like to sit in gardens. Buckeye: This butterfly is seen in the United States. It is also in some places in Mexico. This butterfly is brown and orange. It also has patterns on its wings. These patterns look like eyes. These are used to scare off predators. This scares off other animals because it does not look like a butterfly. Zebra Longwing: This butterfly has black and white stripes. It also likes the warm weather. It lives in Mexico and the United States. These butterflies eat pollen. They also live longer than many other kinds of butterflies. Fun Facts about Butterflies Butterflies taste with their feet.

Butterflies do not have mouths. Butterflies need sun to fly. Butterflies fly during the day. Butterflies can see some colors. They can see red, yellow, and green. Butterflies cannot fly if they are too cold. They need to be warm to fly. Butterflies have their skeleton on the outside of their body. This is to protect them. It keeps the water inside of their body. This is good because they do not dry out. The wings of a butterfly are transparent. The wings of a butterfly have tiny scales. These give their wings color. This is why they do not look transparent to us. How long Cocoon last? How long Cocoon Last? Cocoon For Eggs The cocoon is also know as the larval stage of an insect. This is the part of the life cycle that follows the pupal stage, which is when the insect is born and hatches from its egg. However, it comes before the imago stage, which is when the insect becomes a fully functional adult with wings (if they have them) and a reproduction system that is now completely working.

It is between the pupal stage and the imago stage that an insect will enter into a cocoon that they themselves have made by secreting silk from 2 glands that are located inside of them. This thread will stick together and grow hard when fresh air touches them. While inside of the cocoon, the insect's adult structures are formed and the juvenile structures, which are also known as larval structures, are broken down. During their time inside of their cocoon these insects are very inactive as they stay in their cocoon that is located in a place that is both cool and moist. Their cocoon provides them with a hard protective coating that is oftentimes camouflaged so that predators cannot see them. In this manner, they are able to keep from being eaten while they stay there for anywhere from 2 weeks (monarch butterflies) to an entire season (wintertime in temperate climates and during the dry season in the tropics). Insects will then emerge from their cocoons by splitting it open. Some insects have mouthparts that they use to bite their way out while others use ï¿½spitï¿½ to soften 1 of the ends of the cocoon so that they can then push their way through the fibers.

As you can see, the way in which an insect escapes from their cocoon depends upon how its ï¿½bodyï¿½ is built. When this happens is controlled by their hormones. While butterflies emerge in the morning, mosquitoes emerge at night. Read Next Article - How silk is made from cocoon? Caterpillar Metamorphosis: The Magic Within the Chrysalis - How Caterpillars Work | HowStuffWorks Caterpillar Metamorphosis: The Magic Within the Chrysalis © iStockphoto /Kathy Keifer A caterpillar spends most of its life crawling on -- and devouring -- its food source. But when it's time to become an adult, most caterpillars start to wander away from what they've been eating. They find a sheltered, safe spot in which to pupate, or transform into an adult. In all caterpillars, this happens inside a protective shell known as a chrysalis, but the specifics differ from species to species. Let's look at the monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus) as an example. After wandering for a while, the caterpillar makes a simple silk pad on the underside of a branch or twig.

It uses a hook-covered appendage called a cremaster to attach itself to this pad. It twists around, embedding its cremaster firmly in the silk. Then, it sheds its skin, revealing the chrysalis. The chrysalis hangs upside down from the cremaster until the butterfly is ready to emerge, or eclose. Up Next Do female praying mantises decapitate their mates? Other caterpillars use variations on this process when they pupate. Instead of hanging upside down, some make a silk sling from a tree branch to support themselves as they pupate right-side up. Others create a silk hammock to support their chrysalis. The chrysalis starts out soft and skin-like, but gradually hardens to form a protective shell. Often, moth caterpillars spin a cocoon to protect their chrysalis, which starts out soft and skin-like. However, it will gradually harden to form a protective shell. The moth caterpillar may also disguise the cocoon with leaves or other debris. Caterpillars use different types of support for their chrysalis.

Clockwise from the top right: a silk hammock, a silk pad and supportive loop, a silk cocoon on a leaf, and a suspended chrysalis. 2008 HowStuffWorks It's easy to think of a chrysalis as something a caterpillar makes, like a cocoon, but this isn't really true. The body that the caterpillar reveals when it sheds its skin for the last time is the chrysalis. Along with the ability to occasionally twitch in response to threats, this shell is what protects the caterpillar while it transforms. The transformation itself is amazing. Think of it as recycling -- if you drop a plastic bottle off in the recycling bin, it can be melted down into an entirely different shape. This is what happens inside the chrysalis. Much of the body breaks itself down into imaginal cells, which are undifferentiated -- like stem cells , they can become any type of cell. The imaginal cells put themselves back together into a new shape. A few parts of the body, such as the legs, are more or less unchanged during this process. This process of complete transformation is known as holometabolism.

The amount of time required to transform completely varies from one species to another, but in general it takes about two weeks. For species that survive the winter by staying in the chrysalis, it can take months. According to research at Georgetown University, the caterpillars and butterflies that emerge from the chrysalises may remember some of their lives as caterpillars [source: Blackiston ]. When caterpillars in the study were conditioned to avoid specific smells, they remembered to keep away from those scents as adults -- but only if the conditioning happened in the last instars of the caterpillars' lives. If you want to learn more what happens once the chrysalis opens, read How Butterflies Work . Aside from the damage hungry moths can cause to clothing, most people think of the butterflies and moths that emerge from the chrysalis as beautiful and beneficial. But not everyone feels the same way about caterpillars. Read on to learn what to do if hungry caterpillars are destroying the plants in your yard. Journey North: Monarch Butterfly Contributed by Dr. Lincoln Brower What takes place inside the chrysalis, after it has formed? Listen to Dr.

Brower What is happening inside the chrysalid actually begins inside the caterpillar when it's full grown. There are hormonal changes taking place inside the 5th instar caterpillar. It loses all interest in feeding, starts wandering around and then spins a little silk pad. The silk pad is spun on the underside of a leaf, or the underside of a plant, and then the caterpillar turns around and grabs that silk pad with its hind legs which have little hooks on them. Once those hooks are in that little silk pad the caterpillar drops down and it's beginning to change its form now. In fact, that's exactly what the word "metamorphosis" means: "changing" its "form." What is happening is a biological miracle going on inside that caterpillar. Enzymes are being released that digest all the caterpillar tissue, so that the caterpillar is being converted into a rich culture medium. Inside the caterpillar are several sets of little cells that are in different parts of the body and they're called "imaginal disks." These are really like little groups of embryonic cells.

And as soon as the metamorphosis gets going and as that chrysalid forms the skin is shed off the larva, and now the larva has turned into a chrysalid. These little cells start growing like crazy. And one imaginal disk will become a wing (so there are at least 4 imaginal disks because there are 4 wings in the butterfly). There are imaginal disks that form the legs, the antennae and all the organs of the adult butterfly. And so inside that chrysalis, during the first 3-4 days is literally a bag of rich fluid media that these cells are growing on. And so the transformation of metamorphosis goes. Nothing likes this happens in vertebrates — ever. It's a phenomenon of insects and it truly is a miraculous biological process of transformation. These little groups of cells that start developing very early in the caterpillar's life but then they stall, and so they're just in there waiting, and they don't start growing until the very end of the 5th instar (the last caterpillar stage).

Then they start growing really rapidly and differentiating into the different tissues, so that literally the entire internal contents of the caterpillar — the muscles, the entire digestive system, even the heart, even the nervous system — is totally rebuilt. It's like you took your car, you took a Ford into the shop and left it there for a week and it came out as a Cadillac. During the development of the adult, the chrysalsid loses nearly half of its weight. If you were to weigh a chrysalid 3 days after it formed, and then weigh the adult about 24 hours after it emerges, it would have lost nearly half its weight. This shows that the process of metamorphosis consumes a tremendous amount of energy. (Some of the weight would be water, of course.) During whole time it's a chrysalis it can't excrete or defecate, so all of the waste products accumulate. You may have noticed a reddish-colored liquid under the adult after it emerges. This is the nitrogenous waste that has accumulated the whole time during metamorphosis. Try This! Journaling Question The monarch "changes its ecological niche entirely when it transforms from a caterpillar to an adult butterfly," says Dr.

Brower. "They are two ecologically different organisms, as distinct as a field mouse and a hummingbird." Define the term 'niche.' Then describe how a field mouse is like a monarch caterpillar, and a hummingbird is like an adult monarch. Butterfly metamorphosis caterpillar, chrysalis & moth, cocoon life cycle videos photos:larva growth transition "METAMORPHOSIS IN TRANSFORMATION" Agenda: To experience the phenomena of complete metamorphosis. To continually come to a deeper realization of the wondrous world we live in which, indeed' we are a part of. There are many secrets to behold as one peers deeply into the worlds of nature and gains an appreciation of all levels, from what is percieved as majestic to the minute. Complete metamorphosis of a Cecropia moth and Monarch butterfly are shown in detail. The challenges faced in their lifecycle routines and the marvels expressed through the legacy of creative evolutionary perfection are explored. Complete Metamorphosis is presented. Watch the videos (farther below) For more detailed (as it happened) information visit Chrysalis: A time of change. Change and Wonder: A Butterfly Complete Metamorphosis.

A butterfly metamorphosis close up chronological view showing detailed transitions from egg, caterpillar growth, chrysalis formation, butterfly development within the chrysalis and butterfly emergence. Arduous Ordeals: A Cecropia Moth Metamorphosis Lifecycle Journey Meditate and wonder; Experience the marvel of a complete metamorphosis while listening to sumptuous music of Debussy and Holst. Witness events common to nature but rarely seen. Cecropia moth lifecycle metamorphosis is chronicled in detail. See a caterpillar eat its way out of the egg. Look as a larva changes from black; then yellow; to showing patterns and hues of orange, black, yellow, blue and green. Watch the caterpillar work out of its old 4rth instar skin. Study the form and function of cocoon construction. Witness an event inside a cocoon seldom seen as a prepupa becomes a jade green pupa, then deepens to a rich golden brown color. Finally, wonder as a moth emerges, after spending nine months in a cocoon, into a beautiful Hyalophora cecropia adult. See in detail how wings change from stubby little useless pads into large aerodynamic instruments of flight.

And most of all, come away with an appreciation of what is so often trodden underfoot without awareness or care. >A butterfly life cycle for kids. Children are drawn into the natural world around them. > A very comprehensive website on all facets of monarch studies. This includes many observations reported from around the country. see: For a slideshow showing the growth of a parrot chick from a fuzzy little baby into a three foot adult macaw with brilliant red, blue, yellow and green feathers; please link here . Be sure to scroll down the page to find the show Elements of music; such as rhythm, melody, harmony, form and function are blended together in many varied and diverse ways.

Explore "Global Music Appreciation" at For a wide variety and deeper perspectives involving challenging issues facing a world caught up in the man-made maelstrom of social nearsightedness, distrust, misunderstanding and misinterpretation; link to >positive answers and "the Case For World Unity" For a look at how we are continually exploiting the Earth and the need to change our lifestyles so our children's children may see the wonders of nature visit "unsustainable Lifestyles, Is the cost to the future for the present to high?" at Metamorphosis: A Rebirth of Spirit. First, all insects hatch from an egg, on a food source whence it was laid. Eating, growing, crawling through life, instars ï¿½ shedding when skin is tight. Larva, caterpillar grows so fast, for destined change will be a task. Soon a chrysalis will affirm, an inward change with no return. Chrysalis, a synthesis of of function shape and form, such wonder of mystery, efficiency adorned. Cradle of magnificence protects the change within, Hidden from the eyes of men as it has always been. Colors of a butterfly slowly showing through, the skin of protection, delicate but true.

its time for emergence, the chrysalis must die, so its inner being can spread new wings and fly. Pushing and pumping, the pupal skin is cracked, out slips the insect from its previous form intact. Coming together as it works on many parts, if all is successful a new life soon will start. Wings now in symmetry the butterfly has flown, patterned in language code each species calls its own. Now in a world that no human can discern, a metaphor of life reborn for which we often yearn. David Britton Metamorphosis as metaphor? For more on this idea go to A personal statement about myself. I have had a deep fascination with insects, especially Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) literally since kindergarten. Instead of playing ï¿½Cowboys and Indiansï¿½ with the neighbor kids I was out in a nearby field poking around at all sorts of critters. However, it was always the mystery of the beauty and flight of the butterflies that deeply absorbed my attention. It really was an all consuming passion. Early grade school years saw me collecting butterflies and then going to the college library to classify them.

When it was possible to travel a little south of northern Minnesota it was challenging to see if I could find hybrids of white banded and red spotted purples. I thought about things like,ï¿½ Female white morph sulphur butterflies are so common; why canï¿½t I find any white males?ï¿½ and so on. One outcome of this rather eccentric childhood is this current website. Chrysalis formation to butterfly emergence via indepth digital photo series View a "shockwave" slide show documenting a caterpillar transformation into a chrysalis : click here! Caterpillar to Chrysalis Transformation It all begins when the larva spins a silk "holdfast", grips it securely ,and hangs head downwards. Several hours later it will be noticed the larval "whips" near the front end have become shriveled. This is a sure sign to pay close attention so as not to miss the actual "chrysalis birthing" process. See it now as a "schockwave animated picture show. Just click on this picture. Or Click on It is amazing how wonderful recent advances in technology enable us to peer ever deeper and also enable one to share experiences of what is observed by others worldwide.

Below is a video found in youtube taken of a monarch butterfly caterpillar changing into a chrysalis. Watch the straining and the struggle. Watch the intense labor involved in this ancient arduous process! The chrysalis is a perfect example of form and function. Many chrysalids of different species of butterflies reflect the habitat in which they are found. If the pupa winters over among dead brown leaves it is likely to look like or mimic a dead leaf. If the insect pupates when foliage is green it may be green or look like any number of natural objects such as bark, lichen or a leaf. Look closely and notice the areas on the chrysalis where the anatomy of the butterfly will deveop. Notice how the butterfly form is facing downward. This is how it will emerge. Everything has its plan, beauty, purpose and function. The pupal stage of the monarch is only about ten to fourteen days. Soon the colors will begin showing through the clear (not green) skin of the chrysalis. About two weeks have gone by since the caterpillar turned into a chrysalis.

This time of inactivity is misleading for, in reality, the inward workings within the pupa have been orchestrating the makings of the destined butterfly to come. Now new colors begin to appear as the chrysalis begins to darken. Here is a close look at the chrysalis. The colors of the butterfly become ever more visible as emergence time approaches. These photos of the chrysalis showing the coloration of the butterfly within were taken at 2.5 hour intervals. Some ten to twelve hours later the butterfly patterns are rapidly becoming apparant. When the butterfly colors are bold and clear emergence will follow soon. In a very real sense the chrysalis is a sort of "egg". the substance of the caterpillar has nurished the innate butterfly cells allowing them to rapidly grow. At this point the "caterpillar is entirely "consumed". (these are digital images taken on August 25th 2007.) View more indepth "shockwave" picture presentations showing detail within a complete metamorphosis. Click on a link below. Watch as a caterpillar is seen developing within its egg, hatches, and eats the egg shell. See a caterpillar preparing for pupation.

After a silk anchor is completed the larvae crawls forward midway, turns around, finds and securely attaches its hind claspers. Then the insect proceeds to slowly release and hang head downwards. A caterpillar to chrysalis transformation. The larvae sheds its skin to reveal a wet gyrating chrysalis. The pupae must transfer its hold to its cremaster and drop the old larval skin. The chrysalis gradually assumes its predestined shape and hardens into an imobile waxy pupae. Chrysalis emergence as a transformed butterfly is indeed one of the wonders of nature. View a butterfly breaking free of the pupae, expanding and drying its wings. Be sure to click on all picture sets below to see a full size image and begin a slideshow. Navigation links will appear under each picture. You can advance or go back at your leisure. There is a 10 sec. auto advance (these are digital images taken on August 25th 2007.) Click below on the thunbnail photos to start the slideshow. Here is a sequence of 27 photos showing the emergence of the butterfly from its chrysalis.

After emergence the adult insect actively moves about as it seeks the right position so, with gravity assist, the wings will fill out and harden in the correct shape for flight. Also pay special attention where the monarch aligns the two pieces of its tongue together to work as one. . (these are digital images taken on September 15th 2008.) Click below to start the slideshow. Butterfly colors are vibrantly clear. The time of emergence is at hand. The insect begins pushing downwards and outwards. A clear lighter colored area appears at the top of the pupae as the butterfly within works towards release. The pupal skin cracks and the adult pushes the crack ever wider. Click on a left photo for a full size viewing of a 27 image slide show.. .Within seconds the adult insect slips free of the spent chrysalis. At this point the abdomen is very large and filled with fluid it must pump into the wings. Even as the butterfly emerges the wings begin expanding. The insect twists side to side to help facilitate transfer of fluid from the abdomen into the wings. Click on a left photo for a full size viewing. .Minutes later the wings have greatly expanded in size.

Meanwhile the butterfly has another goal to be accomplished. The two pieces of the tongue must be aligned up and zipped together allowing them to function as one unit. This process can be glimpsed at in the photo to the far left. Notice how the end of the tongue is still paired as two separate strands while the base is fused into one. Click on a left photo for a full size viewing. .The wings are now fully expanded. As can be seen in the far left photo the wings are very soft and vulnerable. If the butterfly tried to spread them they would just bend downwards or flop over. It is essential for the insect to spend time folding the wings together hanging freely vertically downward to allow proper camber to develop for flight. Within hours the butterfly will be airborne. Click on a left photo for a full size viewing. Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle | ASU - Ask A Biologist Ask A Biologist Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle show/hide words to know Life Cycle: the sequence of all stages through which an organism passes - going from egg to adult. Migration: movement of an animal or a group of animals from one place to another. The Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly.

The stages include, egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The entire process is called complete metamorphosis and is one of two ways insects develop from an egg to an adult. The other type of insect development is called incomplete metamorphosis . Egg A monarch begins life as a single, greenish egg attached to the underside of a milkweed leaf. The worm-like larva grows inside the egg. When it is ready, the larva chews a small hole in the egg shell and wriggles its way into the world. After a few minutes, the newly hatched larva has its first meal -- the remains of its egg. Female monarchs lay one to three eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. This process is repeated until the female has laid hundreds of eggs. | top | Larva After eating the shell, the larva begins to eat milkweed leaves. Milkweed is the only plant that monarch larvae will eat. The larva eats and grows, grows and eats. The larva grows so much that it outgrows its skin, much like outgrowing old clothes. In order for the larva to keep growing, molting must occur. The old skin splits, revealing the new skin underneath.

The larva wriggles free of the too-tight skin. After freeing itself, the molted larva often eats its old skin before moving on to more milkweed leaves. | top | After shedding their skins, monarch larvae continue to grow and will have to molt four more times. The last molt is much different than the others. The larva crawls away from its milkweed plant, searching for a suitable place. Some larvae will travel longer distances than others. When the larva has found a suitable place, it weaves a silk mat with a "button" in the center. Once the mat and button are ready, the larva grabs the silk with its legs and hangs upside down. The front part of its body will curve to make a "J-shape." | top | Once in the "J", the larva molts for the last time. The skin splits behind the head, and the larva wiggles while it hangs upside down to remove the old skin. This final molt is the trickiest, because the larva must shed its old skin and still hang onto the silk button. Once the larva embeds a hook-like structure at its rear end into the button, the rest of the skin can slip off.

| top | Pupa When the skin fall off, the larva becomes a pupa. The monarch has no eyes and no antennae. It has no legs, and it cannot move. All of the major changes in body shape, size, and arrangement happen. In monarchs, this stage can last as long as a week. At the end of this stage, an adult butterfly will emerge from the chrysalis . | top | Adult A newly emerged butterfly will wait two or more hours before it can fly. New wings are small and shriveled, so the butterfly pumps body fluid through its wing veins in order to make them get bigger. Then, the monarch has to wait for air to replace some of the fluid. Until this happens, the monarch cannot fly, and its wings are easily damaged. | top | After the wings have hardened, the butterfly flies away to find its first meal. From this point on, the monarch drinks all of its food. The butterfly will visit several different kinds of flowers to get its nectar dinner. | top | Food Part of the life cycle of the butterfly is their change in diet during different stages of development. Monarch larvae only eat the leaves of the milkweed plants.

Once they become an adult they switch to feeding on the nectar of different plants including milkweed. Not only do adult monarchs need to drink nectar, but like other butterflies they also need to drink water. You can sometimes see them on damp ground where they can get water from the soil. This is called mud-puddling, or puddling. Mating Adult monarchs begin mating in the spring, before they return to their summer range. Female monarchs will generally lay one to as many as three eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. She does this many times until she has laid hundreds of eggs. These eggs will hatch into larva, pupate, and become adults in the summer. These new adults will also mate. The new females will lay eggs as they fly northward. This cycle repeats throughout the summer. Finally, in September, mating stops. The last generation of the summer is the one that will migrate to the overwintering grounds. Additional images via Wikimedia Commons. Butterfly egg picture by forehand.jay. Learn About Butterflies Home / Science lessons / Learn About Butterflies Learn About Butterflies Like 12 Dislike 14 The Life Cycle of a Butterfly A butterfly is an insect.

It has three main body parts - a head, thorax, and abdomen. It also has six legs, two compound eyes, and two pairs of wings. Before a butterfly becomes a butterfly, it is a caterpillar, which is also an insect, even though it looks very different from a butterfly and does not have any wings. The incredible transformation that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly is called metamorphosis. (Do you remember learning about a ladybug's metamorphosis in an older issue of this newsletter?) There are four stages that a butterfly goes through in its life. The stages are called a life cycle and are explained below. Egg When a female butterfly becomes an adult, she will lay an egg - or maybe a cluster of several eggs - on a leaf of her favorite plant. A butterfly egg is very tiny and a little bit sticky so it will stick to the leaf until it hatches. About 4-10 days after the egg is laid, a tiny caterpillar will hatch from it! All the little caterpillar will want to do is eat. It will start eating the leaves of the plant it hatched on almost as soon as it is out of its egg.

Lots of caterpillars also eat the shell of the egg they have hatched out of. Larva The tiny caterpillar is called a larvaand will eat a lot to prepare for the amazing transformation it will go through during the next stage of its life. As it eats, it will get too big for its skin and will shed its top layer of skin to reveal a larger brand new layer of skin underneath! This will happen about four or five times during the larva stage. Because a caterpillar is an insect, it has three pairs of true legs on the front part of its body (the thorax), plus lots of other legs called prolegsthat it uses to climb and cling to things. The caterpillar will keep eating and growing for several weeks until it is time to move on to the next stage. Pupa After awhile the caterpillar will stop eating. It is now much bigger than it was when it first hatched from its egg and it is ready to develop into the next stage - a pupa. The caterpillar begins searching for the perfect place to turn into a pupaor chrysalis.

It looks for a place that feels safe and then attaches itself securely, usually upside down, to the spot (like a plant stem or side of a leaf or solid object) using strands of silk. Then it sheds its skin one last time. This time, the new skin underneath is not soft and flexible; it is hard and smooth and makes a case around the caterpillar's whole body. The chrysalis hangs from the spot for several days, weeks, or even months, depending on what type of butterfly pupa it is. While the butterfly is in the pupa stage, some incredible changes are happening inside the chrysalis and it will look much different when it finally comes out! Adult Soon the pupa will be finished developing and a butterfly will break out of the chrysalis. It has changed from a long caterpillar that crawls along and uses jaws to eat leaves into a dainty butterfly that can fly using its colorful wings and eats by sucking nectar from flowers. When a butterfly first emerges from its chrysalis, its wings are folded up and slightly damp. It will stay there for awhile and pump blood through the veins in its wings and allow the air to dry them.

Then it will fly away and look for its first sip of nectar and begin its search for a mate. A female butterfly will lay eggs and the life cycle will start all over again. Butterfly wings are usually very colorful with pretty patterns on the top side of their wings while the underside of their wings are usually darker, more drab colors. Butterflies usually rest with their wings closed and the dark colors help them blend in with their surroundings, making it harder for birds and other predators to see them. The colors on the surface of a butterfly's wings are made up of lots of little tiny scales. If you were to touch a butterfly's wings, you would notice some colored powder-like substance on your fingers. Those are the tiny scales! A butterfly eats through its proboscis (say: PRO-BO-SIS), which is very similar to a straw that you would use to drink a beverage, except that it is connected to the butterfly in place of a mouth. Female butterflies are usually larger than males and they usually live a little longer than males. Links: Check out these pictures of a Black Swallowtail butterfly emerging from its chrysalis . Watch the fascinating life cycle of a butterfly from larva to adult with a Butterfly Garden .

See photos of larva to pupa and pupa to adult stages. Butterfly Senses Butterflies do not see, hear, smell, taste, and feel the way we do. Even though they can do all of these things, their senses are very different from human senses and might not be quite what you would expect! Seeing - Butterflies have large compound eyes, just like most other insects do. Compound eyes have many lenses instead of just one like our eyes and they allow insects to see in many different directions at once, which helps them know when there are predators or other dangers around. Their compound eyes are part of the reason that butterflies often fly away so quickly when you start to get close to them. Hearing - Butterflies do not have ears, so they can't hear sounds like we can. However, their wings are very sensitive and they can feel the vibrations (very fast back and forth movements) that different sounds make. Since they feel sound instead of hearing it, they can really only "hear" loud sounds or big changes in the amount of sound around them. Smelling - Butterflies can smell quite well, but they don't have noses! They can smell through their feet and their antennae.

Tasting - They can also taste through their feet! They have special parts on their feet that help them sense what something tastes like to help them decide if it is something that is good to eat or not. They can also taste through their antennae. Feeling - Since they have six feet, they have lots of things to feel with. Butterflies, like all insects, have two antennae, which help them feel too. They also have lots of tiny hairs on their bodies that help them feel movements. Butterflies vs. Moths Butterflies and moths look and act pretty similar, but here are some important differences that will help you tell them apart: Butterflies have thin antennae with "clubs" on the ends and moths have fuzzy or feathery antennae, usually without "clubs." Moths usually have shorter, fatter, and furrier bodies than butterflies. Moths are nocturnal, which means they are most active at night and sleep during the day. Butterflies are most active during the day. Because moths are nocturnal, their wings usually have darker colors than most butterfly wings.

Butterflies rest with their wings folded and pointing up above their bodies and moths land with them open or else down covering their bodies. Butterflies make chrysalides during the pupa stage and moths make cocoons. Science Words (Note: plural means more than one.) Proboscis- the straw-like tube that butterflies use to drink nectar and other liquids. Symmetrical- having two sides that look exactly the same. Metamorphosis- a transformation that many insects and animals go through before getting to the adult stage. The changes that take place are very dramatic. Larva(plural = larvae) - a middle stage of an insect's life cycle. In a butterfly, the larva is a caterpillar. Prolegs- legs on the end section (the abdomen) of larvae (caterpillars). Pupa(plural = pupae) - a later stage of an insect's life cycle. The complex changes that happen before the insect becomes an adult happen in this stage. In a butterfly, the pupa is a chrysalis. Chrysalis(plural = chrysalides) - the protective outer covering of a butterfly pupa. Nocturnal- active at night and asleep during the day.

Printable Worksheet & PDF Use this worksheet to help kids review symmetry. Discuss how butterflies and moths exhibit symmetry or use with the Observe Symmetry activity. To view a printable PDF version of this newsletter and the worksheet together, click here . Butterfly Life Cycle | Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Home » Explore » Online Exhibits » Butterflies! » Butterfly Life Cycle Butterfly Life Cycle The butterfly and moth develop through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape. Insects have two common types of metamorphosis. Grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, and cockroaches have incomplete metamorphosis. The young (called a nymph) usually look like small adults but without the wings. Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food. There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Egg Eggs are laid on plants by the adult female butterfly.

These plants will then become the food for the hatching caterpillars. Eggs can be laid from spring, summer or fall. This depends on the species of butterfly. Females lay a lot of eggs at once so that at least some of them survive. Butterfly eggs can be very small. Caterpillar: The Feeding Stage The next stage is the larva. This is also called a caterpillar if the insect is a butterfly or a moth. The job of the caterpillar is to eat and eat and eat. As the caterpillar grows it splits its skin and sheds it about 4 or 5 times. Food eaten at this time is stored and used later as an adult. Caterpillars can grow 100 times their size during this stage. For example, a monarch butterfly egg is the size of a pinhead and the caterpillar that hatches from this tiny egg isn't much bigger. But it will grow up to 2 inches long in several weeks. Pupa: The Transition Stage When the caterpillar is full grown and stops eating, it becomes a pupa. The pupa of butterflies is also called a chrysalis.

Depending on the species, the pupa may suspended under a branch, hidden in leaves or buried underground. The pupa of many moths is protected inside a coccoon of silk. This stage can last from a few weeks, a month or even longer. Some species have a pupal stage that lasts for two years. It may look like nothing is going on but big changes are happening inside. Special cells that were present in the larva are now growing rapidly. They will become the legs, wings, eyes and other parts of the adult butterfly. Many of the original larva cells will provide energy for these growing adult cells. Adult: The Reproductive Stage The adult stage is what most people think of when they think of butterflies. They look very different from the larva. The caterpillar has a few tiny eyes, stubby legs and very short antennae. The adults have long legs, long antennae, and compound eyes. They can also fly by using their large and colorful wings. The one thing they can't do is grow. The caterpillar's job was to eat. The adult's job is to mate and lay eggs. Some species of adult butterflies get energy by feeding on nectar from flowers but many species don't feed at all.

Flying comes in handy. The adult female can easily fly from place to place to find the right plant for its eggs. This is important because caterpillars can't travel far. Most adult butterflies live only one or two weeks, but some species hibernate during the winter and may live several months.

Question: What spends part of its life cycle inside a chrysalis?
Answer: Butterfly