My Work, Links and Stuff
Links
Stacey-Lee's Corner of the Web (My sisters site)
Christopher's Castle (My brother's site)
The Monarch Butterfly
A couple of years ago we planted some Swan plants in our garden. Now we have lots of Monarch butterflies here.
The egg
The egg is shaped like a lemon. It is the size of a pinhead. The butterfly
lays its eggs usually on the under side of leaves of swan plants. The
egg takes 3 to 4 days at 18°C to hatch.
The larva
The larva is a soft bodied expandable creature. It is a larva for two
to three weeks. It grows 2700 times its birth weight. The larva has
6 eyes on its head and all of the eyes join making a circle.
The pupa
The larva chooses a place to weave a silken case which forms a green chrysalis. The change can take several months. About two weeks before the butterfly hatches the chrysalis changes from green to transparent.
The butterfly
The butterfly is very damp when it comes out of the chrysalis.
As the wings dry, the viens fill with blood and straighten out. When
the wings have dried and the butterfly has gained strength it can take
off in flight.
