Life cycle of the monarch butterfly – introduction
As humans grow from babies to adults, we look very similar in shape and anatomy (body parts) throughout our lives. Our arms and legs get
As humans grow from babies to adults, we look very similar in shape and anatomy (body parts) throughout our lives. Our arms and legs get
The female monarch butterfly lays her eggs on the leaves and stems of milkweed plants, such as the swan plant. The swan plant is the
A monarch egg is creamy-white and tiny – about the size of the tip of a pencil. This makes the eggs hard to see on
When it is ready to hatch, the tiny caterpillar starts to eats its way out of the egg. Once it has made a hole big
The newly hatched monarch caterpillar starts out tiny (2-3mm long), but, over the next nine to 20 days, it will grow to many times that
When the fifth-instar caterpillar has eaten enough (or the food has run out), it is time for the caterpillar to form its chrysalis (pupate). It
The chrysalis (or pupa) of a monarch butterfly is green – the same colour as a swan plant leaf – with a ridge of gold
About 24 hours after the chrysalis turned black, the butterfly begins to emerge (or eclose) from the chrysalis. The chrysalis splits open, and the butterfly’s
The butterfly is the adult in the monarch’s life cycle. A monarch butterfly has black and orange wings, with white dots along the edges. The
To continue the life cycle and produce more of their kind, monarch butterflies need to mate. The female produces the eggs inside her body, but