From Egg to Butterfly
Painted Lady Butterflies
By: Nicole Blumberg
Painted Lady butterflies are large butterflies that are easily identified by their orange wings with black spots. They also have black and white corners on their wings. Their wingspan is 5-9 centimeters long. How do the Painted Lady butterflies become this beautiful? Read along to find out!
The first stage in the life cycle of a butterfly is the egg. The egg is a tiny, round, cylindrical object with small ribs, or bumps. The female butterfly attaches the egg to stems, leaves, or other objects that are on or near the soon-to-be caterpillar's food. Some females lay one egg while others may lay their eggs in clusters. After about 5 days, the eggs hatch and move into the second stage of their life cycle.
The second stage in the Painted Lady's life cycle is called the larva. The larva, also known as the caterpillar, has one main job, which is to eat constantly. They have a very big appetite! As their bodies continue to grow their exoskeleton sheds in a process called molting. The exoskeleton is replaced by a newer, larger, exoskeleton. A caterpillar may molt five or six times before it goes into the third stage of a butterfly.
The third stage of a butterfly is called the pupa, where the caterpillar turns into a chrysalis. The caterpillar attaches itself to a twig and hangs upside down to form a chrysalis. While in the chrysalis, the structure of the caterpillar changes into it's adult structure. Painted Lady butterflies will remain in their chrysalis for nine to twelve days. The color of the chrysalis darkens as it becomes closer to turning into a butterfly. It then enters it's final stage...
The finals stage of the butterfly is the adult stage. When the butterfly emerges from it's chrysalis, it's wings are wet and weak, so the butterfly must allow their wings to dry. The begin to pump their wings in order for them to be strong enough to fly. After a few hours, the butterflies will be ready to fly and eventually reproduce. Painted Lady butterflies lifespan is 14 days long, so they must reproduce and lay eggs so the cycle can begin again!
Painted Lady Butterflies are the most widespread butterfly in the word. They are found in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Painted Lady Butterflies live in temperate and some tropical areas. In colder weather they migrate to warm places such as Mexico and southern Europe. They are beautiful insects!
There's more!
Do you want to take a closer look at the life cycle of a Painted Lady? Click here!
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Lady
http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/lepidopt/nymph/plady.htm *
http://www.enchantedlearning.com
http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/life-cycle
* Special thanks to Mr. Peter Bryant for his Painted Lady Butterfly photographs