Life Cycle of a Painted Lady Butterfly By: Emma L. and Abby G.

Eggs Eggs are the first stage in the butterfly life cycle The eggs are smaller then a dime The eggs are a pale green Eggs are usually laid on the underside of the leaf They can lay more than 100 eggs

Larva The larva is the second stage of the butterflys life cycle The larva stage takes about 5 to 10 days to form the pupa stage The larva eats and grows until its ready to go into the next stage The larva molts its exoskeleton

Pupa The pupa is the third stage of the butterflies life cycle Metamorphosis is happening inside the pupa stage The pupa is very still The pupa hangs off a twig or leaf

Adult The last stage in a butterflys life cycle is adult The adult drinks nectar The adult has bright colors The adult will mate and lay eggs They will lay a lot of eggs because a lot will not survive They have 3 body parts a head, thorax, thorax, and abdomen

Predators They can be eaten by birds and crab spiders Their colors make them easy to see Other larger insects will eat them

Camouflage and Warning of painted lady butterfly and others Butterflies can blend in with their surroundings Butterflies that are poisonous have bright colors to warn other animals Some mimic other butterflies that are poisonous Painted lady butterflies mimic the colors of monarchs to warn they taste bad

Interesting Facts A young caterpillar is about 1mm long and when its ready to go into the pupa is about 40mm. A kind of fly lays its eggs in a caterpillars stomach Because a lot of the eggs are eaten there are many of them

Glossary Metamorphosis-change completely Mimic-copy another thing Exoskeleton-an outer shell Proboscis-a straw like tongue