My Butterfly Book

My Butterfly Book

By Ms. Nicole

The First Stage

A butterfly starts life as a very small, round, oval or cylindrical egg

Butterfly eggs are usually laid on the leaves of plants. Here is my drawing of butterfly eggs!

The Second Stage

When the butterfly egg hatches a caterpillar emerges!

Caterpillars need to eat and eat so they can grow quickly. When a caterpillar is born, they are extremely small. When they start eating, they instantly start growing and expanding. Their exoskeleton (skin) does not stretch or grow, so they grow by “molting” (shedding the outgrown skin) several times while it grows.

The Third Stage

The pupa stage is one of the coolest stages of a butterfly’s life. As soon as a caterpillar is done growing and they have reached their full length/weight, they form themselves into a pupa, also known as a chrysalis.

Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called ‘metamorphosis,’ to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge. Tissue, limbs and organs of a caterpillar have all been changed by the time the pupa is finished, and is now ready for the final stage of a butterfly’s life cycle.

The Fourth Stage

When the caterpillar has done all of its forming and changing inside the pupa you will get to see an adult butterfly emerge. When the butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis, both of the wings are going to be soft and folded against its body. This is because the butterfly had to fit all its new parts inside of the pupa.

When in the fourth and final stage of their lives, adult butterflies are constantly on the look out to reproduce and when a female lays their eggs on some leaves, the butterfly life cycle will start all over.

Stage 1: The egg

Review!

Stage 2: Larva (Caterpillars)

Stage 3: Pupa

Stage 4: Adult Butterfly