The Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly

1. The Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly

2. Life Cycles • A life cycle is all the changes that happen to an organism between birth and death. • A life stage is a change or event that happens at one point of life. • Metamorphosis is a series of • life stages that an insect goes • through to become and adult. • Butterflies have four life • stages during their life cycle.

3. Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Stages Egg 1. 2. Larval (Caterpillar) 3. 4. Pupa (Chrysalis) Adult Butterfly (Imago)

4. Stage 1: The Egg • found on the underside of milkweed leaves • tiny, round and oval in shape and size • hatches in 3-5 days when the weather is warm

5. Stage 2: The Caterpillar (or larva) • long and worm like • usually brightly colored with an interesting pattern • sheds its skin a couple of times because it’s growing bigger (instars) • stays a caterpillar for about 14 days – Five Different Instars • Eats milkweed leaves

10. Stage 3: The Chrysalis (or pupa) • transformation stage • caterpillar spins a chrysalis (a silk covering) • made when a caterpillar spins silk and attaches itself to a branch • starts out a green color and then turns brown and orange • takes 10-12 days for the butterfly to be ready • Eats nothing • Butterfly emerging from the chrysalis

12. Forming a chrysalis

13. Chrysalis development

14. Chrysalis emergence

15. Stage 4: Adult Butterfly • Fully developed • Doesn’t grow anymore • Can only eat liquids like nectar, juices from fruits, etc • usually lives for 14-42 days

18. Summary Life Cycle Stages: • 1. Egg: Found on Milkweed. 3-5 days • 2. Larvae (Caterpillar): Sheds skin (molts) 5 times. 5 instars (2 weeks) eats milkweed leaves • 3. Pupa (Chrysalis): Transformation stage. 10 – 14 days • 4. Adult Butterfly: Fully developed. Eats liquids. 14 – 42 days.

19. Let’s see what we learned!