I remember learning about the cycle of a Monarch Butterfly when I was a child in school, and being read the picture book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. That was some time ago!
This brings me to now, when just recently I discovered a caterpillar on a Swan Bush, also known as a Cotton Bush. I then found a chrysalis too and another, but I didn't have my camera with me. Lucky for me, I was able to come back and revisit. 😊
I was ready and wanted to document the stages of the cycle of a Monarch Caterpillar with my camera and see the amazing transformation with my own eyes, not just from a science book or a picture book...
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A MONARCH BUTTERFLY.
Stage 1: The Egg
Flutter, flutter, flutter...along comes a female butterfly and it lays its tiny eggs usually underneath a leaf. A few days passes, around four days, and then out comes a tiny, teeny baby caterpillar. Amazing!
The leaves of a Swan Bush plant.
Stage 2: The Larva (Caterpillar)
The caterpillar eats and eats and eats. It is very, very hungry. As it grows it sheds its skin about four or five times.
After about two weeks the caterpillar is fully grown, it can grow about 100 times larger its size than when it first came out from its egg.
Spot the tiny caterpillar and the BIG caterpillar.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is busy eating.
Stage 3: Pupa (Chrysalis)
The caterpillar attaches itself to a leaf by using silk so that it can start the process of metamorphosis. From the outside of its home, it looks like not much is happening, but during a ten day phase of the chrysalis, it is a time of dramatic change. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge.
Left: An early stage of the chrysalis. Centre: The butterfly is starting to develop inside the chrysalis. Right: The butterfly just about ready to emerge.
Stage 4: The Adult Butterfly
When the Monarch butterfly first emerges from the chrysalsis its wings are soft and folded against its body.
I watched this butterfly flap its wings to dry them. After a three-four hour period, it is ready to fly away and explore the wide and open world, feeding on flowers and enjoying the short life it has, which is only about two to six weeks.
It finds a mate and the cycle begins all over again. Nature at its finest!
A Monarch butterfly drying its wings.
Three stages of the cycle of a Monarch butterfly; from Caterpillar to Adult Butterfly.
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Until next time
Rebekah.