蝴蝶的一生
蝴蝶的一生
蝴蝶的一生
The Butterfly Life Cycle
There are four stages of the butterfly life cycle that can range from a
month to a year depending on the type of butterfly. All butterflies go
through a total metamorphosis. First butterflies are born as an egg.
They hatch into a caterpillar, then turn into a pupae, finally get their
wings! Each stage is very unique and we will explore each of them in
detail below.
caterpillar
First, butterflies lay e_ _s.
Second, eggs
become cate_pillars.
egg
A bu_ _erfly usually
has brightly colored
wings.
butterfly
The Egg
There are four stages in
a butterfly's li_e c_cle.
Third, caterpillars
become pu_ae.
pupae
Finally, pupae become
adult b_tt_rflies.
emerging
butterfly
Adult butterflies (female) lay anywhere from ten to a hundred tiny eggs
on leaves or plants depending on the species. They will lay eggs on
the type of plants, the caterpillars will eat once they hatch. The larvae
or caterpillar grows inside the egg. They are in this stage for about a
week. If look close enough you can actually see the tiny caterpillar
growing inside of it.
蝴蝶的一生
The Caterpillar
Once the egg hatches a small worm-like larvae comes out. The larvae or
caterpillar will start eating the leaf they hatched on almost right away.
In fact almost all they do in this stage is eating. Due to their size, travel
is difficult and they will normally stay on the leave or plant they were
hatched on.
They will eat a lot in this stage and can cause a lot of damage to
vegetation. In fact they will normally eat more than their weight per day.
Because of this, they grow very fast and will outgrow their skin several
times. Caterpillars do this by molting or shedding their outgrown skin.
The Pupae
Once the caterpillar become pupae, they hang upside down from a
branch and form a hard protective shell to shed its last layer of skin.
Inside the pupae the caterpillar begins the metamorphosis into a
butterfly. The hard shell becomes transparent and the wing patterns on
the butterfly become more visible as the metamorphosis gets further
along. This stage lasts for about three weeks. The pupae does not eat
until it turns into a butterfly.
The Butterfly
When the fully formed butterfly breaks through the hard pupae shell its
wings will be soft and folding against its body. It straightens its wings
by pushing blood into them. This makes them expand and harden. After
a few hours the wings are ready and the butterfly can fly away to start
the search for a mate in order to reproduce and for food. Then the life
cycle starts all over again.