Butterfly Observation

A butterfly’s life cycle has four stages of metamorphosis. The egg is the first stage of a butterfly’s life. They are very small and are laid in a cluster on a leaf. Butterflies usually lay eggs on a host plant. The second stage is the larvae, or caterpillar. A caterpillar’s first three legs are its true legs that will make it through metamorphosis. They will go through two periods of molting during the larvae stage.The third stage is when the larvae splits its skin and forms a pupa, which hardens into a chrysalis. The chrysalis camouflages with its surroundings. The last stage is the adult butterfly. Butterfly breaks out of the chrysalis. The wings are wet and have no structure. Fluid from the abdomen is pumped into the veins of the wings. Then the butterfly is able to fly.