The Butterfly Life Cycle
Butterflies are some of the most colourful and attractive insects on the planet.
There are several thousand species of butterflies belonging to about six families (or more, in other systems of classification) and constituting the subfamily Papilionoidea. Along with the moths and the skippers, they make up the insect order Lepidoptera. Butterflies are nearly worldwide in distribution.
Like those of moths, the wings, bodies, and legs of butterflies are covered with dustlike scales that come off when they are handled. Unlike moths, butterflies are usually brightly or strikingly coloured and are active during the day. Perhaps the most distinctive features of the butterfly are its club-tipped antennae and its habit of holding the wings vertically over the back when at rest.
The life cycle of the butterfly, like that of other lepidopterans, has four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chyrsalis), and adult (imago). The larva and adults of most species are plant eaters.
There are several thousand species of butterflies belonging to about six families (or more, in other systems of classification) and constituting the subfamily Papilionoidea. Along with the moths and the skippers, they make up the insect order Lepidoptera. Butterflies are nearly worldwide in distribution.
Like those of moths, the wings, bodies, and legs of butterflies are covered with dustlike scales that come off when they are handled. Unlike moths, butterflies are usually brightly or strikingly coloured and are active during the day. Perhaps the most distinctive features of the butterfly are its club-tipped antennae and its habit of holding the wings vertically over the back when at rest.
The life cycle of the butterfly, like that of other lepidopterans, has four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chyrsalis), and adult (imago). The larva and adults of most species are plant eaters.
Monarch butterfly
Egg
The egg of a butterfly is cased by a protective membrane called a chorion. This forms a hard outer shell. The larva develops from a fertilised nucleus, situated in the yolk of the egg. The eggs themselves are very small - often smaller than 1mm. They vary in shape, colour and pattern, and can be laid singly or in batches of up to several hundred. After it is laid, the egg may change colour, until the larva is eventually visible through the shell. Larva
Once developed, the larva will make its way out of the shell by creating a hole. The basic structure of the larva is common to all species. The larva is made up of a head and thirteen segments. Each head has six eyes and a pair of short antennae. This is the only stage of the cycle in which actual growth occurs. Pupa
In the stage of pupation, the larva will transform into a butterfly. It does this via the breaking down or regrouping of the body cells, which then develop into the adult organs. This transformation takes place within a pupa, which is a sclerotised outer shell. Butterfly
After emerging from the chrysalis case, the butterfly is limp and wrinkled, with an abdomen swollen with liquid. While the butterfly hangs from a convenient position, it pumps this liquid into the veins of the wings. The butterfly will remain in this position until the wings are dry and hardened enough for the purpose of flight. The butterfly has 2 antennae, 4 or 6 legs, a proboscis, and two wings, each with an upper and lower membrane. 
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- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Aug 21, 2008 @ 7:31 pm
- We take nature's beauty for granted. Its nice to see lenses like this.
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