Metamorphosis of the Butterfly

All photos and text

Copyright 2007

Kris Light

http://easttennesseewildflowers.com

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Metamorphosis:

• Means - to “change shape”

• Begins with an egg

• Takes place in insects and amphibians

• Can be complete or incomplete

Egg Larva Pupa Adult

Egg Nymph Adult

Egg Tadpole Adult

Complete Metamorphosis

Incomplete Metamorphosis

Butterflies

• Butterflies go through “complete

metamorphosis”. They

have 4 phases.Theylay their eggs on

specific types of leaves which will be food for

the caterpillars. They touch leaves with their

feet to taste-test them

before laying the eggs. Gulf Fritillary Butterfly layingher egg on a leaf

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The Egg

• The caterpillar inside the egg will develop in just over a week. Shortly before the caterpillar hatches, the top of the egg will turn black (that is the caterpillar’s head).

• Some insects overwinter as an egg and hatch in the spring when food becomes available. Monarch egg

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The caterpillar hatches!

• This tiny, 2 millimeter-long caterpillar has just hatched from its egg. The first food it ate was the egg shell (good protein!), then it began to eat the tiny hairs on the bottom of the milkweed leaf.

• Caterpillars are the “eating phase” of butterfly’s lifecycle. This little monarch will gain 3000 times its hatching weight and grow up to 50 mm just before it becomes a chrysalis!

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The caterpillar grows

LARGER

• For 2 weeks the caterpillar eats and poops a lot!

• As it grows it sheds its skin 4 times

• The bright colors of the Monarch caterpillar warn birds and other predators that it is poisonous; a bird will get sick if it eats one of these!

• Monarch caterpillars have “feelers” called whiplasheson both ends. They have small simple eyes that can detect light from dark.

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Getting ready for a big

change! • On its last day as a

caterpillar, it climbs to a secure spot and spins a silk mat. It then hooks its last prolegs into the mat and hangs head down in the shape of a “J”. It will hang like this for about 12 hours. As it pulls air into its body through holes in the abdomen called spiracles, the skin loosens and it begins to split behind the head.

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Pupation – a time of

transformation• When the skin finally

pops off, the jade-green chrysalis is left in its place. The caterpillar’s body becomes a soupy mix of cells that will change into a butterfly within 14 days. The wings are just barely visible in the black chrysalis, the butterfly will soon emerge!

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It’s time for the butterfly to

emerge!• It takes only a

couple of minutes

for the butterfly to

emerge from the

confines of the

chrysalis but it may

take up to 2 hours

before it can fly.

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The butterfly is ready to fly!

A Male Monarch Butterfly has a spot on his lower wings,a female doesn’t.

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Moth caterpillars become a

cocoon when they pupate• Moth caterpillars

spin a silk cocoon around themselves and shed their larval skin inside the cocoon.

• The moth may over-winter in this phase because it doesn’t eat as a pupa.

Acrea moth cocoons

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Other Butterflies

Buckeye Viceroy Red-spotted Purple

Tiger SwallowtailBaltimore Checkerspot

Question Mark

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Moths

Moths are usually

nocturnal, but can

fly during the day.

some are well

camouflaged, others

flash bright underwings

when threatened.

HummingbirdClearwing

Blinded Sphinx Luna Moth

Tiger Moth Io moth

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Caterpillars

Io moth Monarch ButterflyCase-bearer moth

Tobacco HornwormMoth

Inchworm MothMilkweed Moth

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End of Presentation

http://EastTennesseeWildflowers.com

Kris Light (klight10@comcast.net)

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