By: Lina Andrea N. Estefani
PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
linaandreaestefani@yahoo.com
What is a butterfly?
- is a mainly day-flying insect that have large, often brightly colored wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight.
- the term Lepidoptera, which means "scaled wings" refers to butterflies and moths. Butterflies and moths are arthropods and insects.
Life Cycle of a Butterfly
The Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation.
The First Stage: The Egg
The egg is the first stage in the butterfly and moth life cycle. Butterfly and moth eggs are very small and round, oval or cylindrical. Many have ribs or other tiny features. Females lay their eggs on or near the plants that will later become caterpillar food.
The Second Stage: The Larva (Caterpillar)
The larva hatches from the egg. Butterfly and moth larvae are usually called caterpillars. Caterpillars spend most of their time eating. Butterflies and moths do all of their growing when they're caterpillars, and food gives them the energy and body-building materials they need. A caterpillar's exoskeleton can't stretch or grow, so the caterpillar sheds its skin, or molts, several times as it grows. When the egg hatches, the caterpillar will start his work and eat the leaf they were born onto. This is really important because the mother butterfly needs to lay her eggs on the type of leaf the caterpillar will eat – each caterpillar type likes only certain types of leaves. Since they are tiny and cannot travel to a new plant, the caterpillar needs to hatch on the kind of leaf it wants to eat. Caterpillars are short, stubby and have no wings at all.
The Third Stage: Pupa (Chrysalis)
As soon as a caterpillar is done growing and they have reached their full length/weight, they form themselves into a pupa, also known as a chrysalis. From the outside of the pupa, it looks as if the caterpillar may just be resting, but the inside is where all of the action is. Inside of the pupa, the caterpillar is rapidly changing. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called ‘metamorphosis,’ to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge. Tissue, limbs and organs of a caterpillar have all been changed by the time the pupa is finished, and is now ready for the final stage of a butterfly’s life cycle.
The Fourth Stage: Adult Butterfly
Finally, when the caterpillar has done all of its forming and changing inside the pupa, an adult butterfly emerge. When the butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis, both of the wings are going to be soft and folded against its body. This is because the butterfly had to fit all its new parts inside of the pupa. As soon as the butterfly has rested after coming out of the chrysalis, it will pump blood into the wings in order to get them working and flapping – then they get to fly. Usually within a three or four-hour period, the butterfly will master flying and will search for a mate in order to reproduce. When in the fourth and final stage of their lives, adult butterflies are constantly on the look out to reproduce and when a female lays their eggs on some leaves, the butterfly life cycle will start all over.
REFERENCES:
• http://exhibits.pacsci.org/insects/buttermoth.html
• http://www.butterflyschool.org/student/butterfly.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly
• http://www.thebutterflysite.com/life-cycle.shtml
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphosis
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