BUTTERFLY
INFORMATION
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Monarch
Butterfly Life Stages
The Monarch
Butterfly life stages from egg, to caterpillar, to an adult winged
creature
is truly amazing.
People of all ages are fascinated by watching the aging of gangly butterfly caterpillars, and observing a green chrysalis (pupa state) transforming into a butterfly that quickly grows into an adult. You may have seen experiments in school watching the Monarch progress through its stages. The caterpillar feeds on milkweed plant to pupate, so placing a few caterpillars in glass jars with fresh milkweed leaves provides the perfect nursery to witness the transformation into butterflies.
Live Butterfly Pavilion
Over 200 Amazon customers wrote "5 Star Excellent" reviews of
this
product! Watch how real live caterpillars change from chrysalis to
butterflies. "This kit provided my children with a wonderful,
exciting learning experience that they will never forget!"
Under normal summer temperatures the egg turns into a butterfly caterpillar in about four to five days. The monarch caterpillar searches for an appropriate spot to advance to its next stage. It produces a small cocoon for itself and affixes it under a leaf or small branch. Normally the entire process, from egg to butterfly, is completed in about two weeks. During late spring to mid summer a pair of adult mating Monark Butterflies may only live from two to five weeks, but several generations will be produced.
People of all ages are fascinated by watching the aging of gangly butterfly caterpillars, and observing a green chrysalis (pupa state) transforming into a butterfly that quickly grows into an adult. You may have seen experiments in school watching the Monarch progress through its stages. The caterpillar feeds on milkweed plant to pupate, so placing a few caterpillars in glass jars with fresh milkweed leaves provides the perfect nursery to witness the transformation into butterflies.
Live Butterfly Pavilion
Over 200 Amazon customers wrote "5 Star Excellent" reviews of
this
product! Watch how real live caterpillars change from chrysalis to
butterflies. "This kit provided my children with a wonderful,
exciting learning experience that they will never forget!"
Under normal summer temperatures the egg turns into a butterfly caterpillar in about four to five days. The monarch caterpillar searches for an appropriate spot to advance to its next stage. It produces a small cocoon for itself and affixes it under a leaf or small branch. Normally the entire process, from egg to butterfly, is completed in about two weeks. During late spring to mid summer a pair of adult mating Monark Butterflies may only live from two to five weeks, but several generations will be produced.
However,
as the longer and warmer days of summer evolve into the shorter and
cooler days of late summer and early fall the Monarch’s evolution
life stages change. Butterflies that emerge from the pupal
state
now
are different. The process from egg to adult stage will take
longer, about a month now. And this last generation of the
summer
season is identified to partake in the miraculous winter
migration. This generation is the longest lived,
about eight
to
nine months, and able to survive the arduous migration to parts of
Florida, the coastal regions of Texas, Mexico, and California, and
retain enough strength for the return trip in the spring.
The Monark Butterflies return to their same homes in the spring. The breeding process resumes during this trip. Following the rebirth of their food source, the milkweed plant, the youngest Monarch generation continues northward. Many insect species can only mate once in their lifetimes, but Monarchs can mate several times in their short lifespan, deposit their eggs on milkweed plants, die, and be replaced with another generation.
The Monark Butterflies return to their same homes in the spring. The breeding process resumes during this trip. Following the rebirth of their food source, the milkweed plant, the youngest Monarch generation continues northward. Many insect species can only mate once in their lifetimes, but Monarchs can mate several times in their short lifespan, deposit their eggs on milkweed plants, die, and be replaced with another generation.
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