The majestic butterfly soars through the air and lands on a dew-covered leaf. She lays her tiny eggs and flies away. This is the first stage of the butterfly life cycle.
The eggs are miniature, round and oval. The mother butterfly must be very careful about where she lays her eggs, because when they hatch, the caterpillars won't be strong enough to crawl onto another plant, so it starts eating the one they were born on. It is important that they eat the right type of plant, for each type of caterpillar likes only certain types of leaves.
When the egg finally hatches, a tiny baby caterpillar emerges, very unlike its mother. It starts eating the leaf it was born on. As soon as it starts eating, it instantly starts to grow. It's skin does not stretch or grow, so they grow by moulting (shedding the out grown skin) several times while it grows. Mostly, in this stage, all they do is eat.
The third stage is when the caterpillar forms into a pupa. As soon as a caterpillar is done growing and they have reached their full length/weight, they form themselves into a pupa, also known as a chrysalis. Inside of the pupa, the caterpillar is rapidly changing. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable metamorphosis (change) to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge.
Finally, when the caterpillar has done all of its forming and changing inside the pupa, an adult butterfly emerges. It's wings will be soft and folded against it's body. This is because the butterfly had to fit all it's new parts inside of the pupa. As soon as the butterfly has rested after coming out of the chrysalis, it will pump blood into the wings in order to get them working and flapping.
Once this has been achieved, the magnificent butterfly rises into the air and goes in search of another butterfly to reproduce with, and when a female butterfly lays her eggs on a leaf, the cycle will start again.
By Emma P
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