Toni Szabo 1 st Grade Science GLE Observe and illustrate the life cycle of animals Check for Understanding: Observe, describe, and record the life cycle of a particular animal. START

The Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly Pupa Larva Egg Adult Click on a picture to read more about that stage! Click camera to watch a video of the Monarch Life cycle.

The Monarch Egg  Monarch Butterfly eggs are very tiny.  Butterflies lay eggs on Milkweed leaves and twigs.  Female Monarchs may lay hundreds of eggs in their lifetime!  Eggs are sticky so they do not fall off of leaves/twigs.  Butterfly eggs hatch in a matter of days! Return to quiz

The Monarch Larva  The Larva stage is what we call a caterpillar.  The larva will quickly double its size as it feeds on the Milkweed plant it was hatched on.  Caterpillars eat so much that they may shed their skin up to 4 times!  All caterpillars have 16 legs and little hooks on its rear.  Caterpillars have strong jaws so they can munch through a leave in a matter of seconds!  When caterpillars get big enough, they will use the hooks on their body to hang upside down, and shed their last layer of skin. Return to quiz

The Monarch Pupa  After the larva sheds its last skin, the new skin underneath becomes hard; this is what’s called the pupa stage.  The hard outer shell of the growing butterfly is called a chrysalis.  The pupa will hang motionless for weeks while inside the butterfly grows.  At the end of the pupa stage, you can even see the grown butterfly before it emerges!  After about 3 weeks, the butterfly is ready to leave the chrysalis. Return to quiz

The Monarch Adult Return To Quiz  When the Monarch Butterfly first breaks through the pupa they must let their wings dry out before they can fly.  Their wings are very weak and crumbled the first few hours after they leave the chrysalis.  Butterflies do not grow after they enter this stage of life; they stay the same size.  All butterflies have 4 scaly wings that they flap in unison.  Adult butterflies drink juices from fruits and flowers for their food, and drink drops of water from the wet ground.  The butterfly is now ready to continue the life cycle by laying eggs.

More Fun Facts About Monarch Butterflies Monarch’s go through 4 generations in a year! The first 3 generations live for about 6 weeks, but the 4 th generation lives longer in order to migrate to warmer weather! Did you know Monarch butterflies are poisonous? They are not harmful to humans, but the Milkweed they feed on in their larva stage builds up and makes them poisonous to their enemies! On November 16, Monarch caterpillar’s blasted into space aboard the space shuttle Atlantis! Read more about itRead more about it A Monarch Butterfly egg would fit inside this o !

What Have We Learned

1. At what stage of the Monarch Butterfly’s life is it also called a caterpillar? Review this section Review this section A) The Adult Stage B) The Larva Stage C) The Pupa Stage 2. The hard shell that forms as a protection for the caterpillar while it grows into a butterfly is called a __________. Review this section Review this section A) Cocoon C) Pupa Shell B) Chrysalis 3. Butterflies lay very few eggs in their lifetime. Review this section Review this section True False 4. During the pupa stage, the Monarch crawls around. Review this sectionReview this section True False

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