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.

Insect Anatomy

An adult insect has three pairs of legs. An insect has an exoskeleton that is made of a hard material called chitin. It has three main body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. The head is where the antenna, eyes, and mouth parts are located.The middle part of the insect, called the thorax, is where the wings and legs are attached to. The abdomen is where the organs are located. 

There are four most common mouthparts. The first one is biting-chewing. This is for insects that eat solid foods, like beetles. The next one is piercing-sucking. The insect pierces into a plant or animal and sucks fluids. A good example of an insect using this type of mouthpart would be mosquitoes. Another mouthpart is called sponging. The insect pumps saliva, and then sucks it back up. An example of an insect with this mouthpart would be a housefly. The fourth mouthpart is siphoning. Insects, such as butterflies and moths, uncoil their long tube mouths and drink nectar from flowers.