The Life Cycle Of The Butterfly
By Ariel White
The first stage of the life cycle of the butterfly is the egg stage.
Female butterflies lay their eggs on leaves that will become food for their babies when they hatch. There are a lot of eggs layed at a time and they are very tiny and hard to see.
The second stage of the cycle of the butterfly is the caterpillar stage. This is also called the larva stage.
When a caterpillar hatches they have only one job and that is to eat and grow. The leaves that they were hatched on are the food they will eat. Caterpillars can grow 100 times their original size.
The third stage of the life cycle of the butterfly is the pupa stage. It is also known as the chrysalis stage.
When a caterpillar is fully grown, it wraps itself in a silky casing that protects it while the caterpillar goes through metamorphsis. This can take a few weeks, a month, or even longer.
The fourth and final stage of the life cycle of the butterfly is the butterfly stage. This is the stage that most people think about when they think about butterflies.
When the butterfly is ready to come out of the pupa, the butterfly does not fly away right away. Because they had to fit in a small space, their wings are soft and folded against their body. When the butterfly is strong enough to fly, they go in search of a mate. When the eggs are laid, the life cycle starts all over again.
