Zusammenfassung der Ressource
life cycle of a
butterfly
- A monarch begins life as an egg stuck under a milkweed leaf. The
worm (a larva) grows inside the egg. When ready, the larva chews
a hole on the outside of its egg, and crawls through the hole until
it can enter the world outside. After a few minutes, the larvae
eats the remains of its egg for the first time.
- After eating its egg, the larva begins to eat
milkweed leaves. Milkweed is the only plant
that a monarch larva can eat. The larva
eats and grows, grows and eats. She grows
so big that she can't fit on her old skin. In
order to grow that large, the larva has to
shed its skin. The old skin is split, exposing
the new skin under it. The larva crawls on
the old skin, which is already too small.
After being released, the larvae usually eat
their old skin before eating more milkweed
leaves.
- After shedding their skins, monarch larvae
continue to grow, and they have to shed
four more times. The last time they move
is very different than the others. The larva
crawls from its milkweed, and looks for a
suitable place. Some larvae travel more
than others. When the larva has found the
appropriate place, it begins to weave a silk
mesh with a "button" in the center. Once
finished, the larva grabs the silk with its
legs, and hangs upside down. The front of
your body is curved into a "J" shape.
- When it has formed its "J", the larva
molts for the last time. The skin is
parted on the back of its head, and the
larva crawls while hanging upside down,
to shed its old skin. The last molt is
the most difficult, because the larva
has to leave its old skin and still hang
on its "button". Once the larva
incorporates a hook that penetrates
the "button" on the rear side of the
larva, it can remove the remaining skin.
- When the remaining skin falls off, the
larva pupates. It has no eyes, no
antennae. He has no legs, and he cannot
move. All the major changes in body
shape, size, and arrangement take place
when it is a pupa. In monarchs, this
stage can last as long as a week. Upon
completion, an adult butterfly emerges
from the chrysalis.
- An emerging butterfly waits two to three
hours before it can fly. New wings are
small and wrinkled, so it pumps liquid
through its wing veins to make them
bigger. Afterward, the monarch has to
wait until a little air can replace some of
the liquid. Up to this point, the monarch
cannot fly, and her wings are very easily
damaged.
- Después que las alas se han endurecidas,
la mariposa vuela hasta encontrar su
primera comida. Desde este punto en
adelante, la monarca toma toda su comida.
La mariposa visitará varios tipos de flores
para encontrar su comida en forma de
néctar.