subject: Things You Should Know About Caterpillar to Butterfly Metamorphosis [print this page] Things You Should Know About Caterpillar to Butterfly Metamorphosis
All butterflies start off as an egg. What is particularly fascinating about this stage is that if you look very closely at the egg you will be able to see a little caterpillar moving around inside it. The eggs are usually laid on leaves.
A caterpillar will eventually emerge from each egg. They are known scientifically as larvae. They do not remain in this stage for very long and will not usually do much more than eat. Unlike other creatures, they do not start out by eating smaller bugs and insects, but eat the leaf on which their egg lay. The mother would have therefore chosen a suitable leaf to lay her eggs on so that the caterpillar, when hatched, would be able to start its life by eating that leaf.
They will start growing almost immediately and will grow at a rapid speed from here on. During this stage, they will shed their skin and will continue to do so the more they grow. They will then eventually move on to the third stage of their life cycle - the pupa or chrysalis stage which is thought to be the most fascinating and interesting stage of their lives.
Once a caterpillar has reached its maximum length and weight, they will form themselves into a pupa. At first glance, it will look as though the caterpillar is resting, hanging upside down from a tree branch. However, there is a lot more happening inside. Their tiny bodies are transforming at an incredible rate, known as metamorphosis. Their bodies are changing from short stubby caterpillars to amazing butterflies with wings. The tissue, limbs and organs are all undergoing this transformation and once this stage is finished, they will be ready for the final stage of their life cycle.
When the pupa stage has finished, a beautiful, colorful butterfly will emerge. Firstly, it will emerge with its wings pressed tightly against its body. Once out, it will rest for a while, and its body will pump round enough blood to the wings to help them to start working as they should to enable that butterfly to fly away. This stage of learning how to fly and getting the wings started will take anything between three and four hours, after which time they will start their hunt for a mate to reproduce.
This will have now completed the dramatic life cycle of a small unattractive caterpillar into a beautiful, elegant butterfly. Once a butterfly is fully grown, its main aim will be to find a mate in order that it can reproduce and re-start the life cycle again by the laying of eggs on a leaf. There are a number of ways in which you can experience the whole cycle from caterpillar to butterfly, and probably the best way to do so is by getting a live butterfly kit so that the whole cycle can be seen in the comfort of your own home.
