1. The Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly
A presentation by Nicole Gaughan

2. You Will Learn…. What a life cycle is
The life cycle of a Monarch butterfly
The stages a Monarch butterfly goes through
Some vocabulary terms that go along with the stages

3. Life Cycles
A life cycle is all the changes that happen to an organism between birth and death.
A life stage is a change or event that happens at one point of life.
Metamorphosis is a series of life stages that an insect goes through to become and adult. Butterflies have four life stages during their life cycle.

4. Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Stages
Egg
Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Stages 1. 2.
Caterpillar (Larva) 3. 4.
Chrysalis (Pupa)
Adult Butterfly

5. Stage 1: The Egg found on the underside of milkweed leaves
tiny, round and oval in shape and size
hatches in 3-5 days when the weather is warm

6. Stage 2: The Caterpillar (or larva)
long and worm like
usually brightly colored with an interesting pattern
sheds its skin a couple of times because it’s growing bigger
stays a caterpillar for about 14 days

7. Stage 3: The Chrysalis (or pupa)
transformation stage
caterpillar spins a cocoon (a silk covering)
made when a caterpillar spins silk and attaches itself to a branch
starts out a green color and then turns brown and orange
takes days for the butterfly to be ready
Butterfly emerging from the chrysalis

8. Stage 4: Adult Butterfly
the butterfly is fully developed
it doesn’t grow anymore
it can only eat liquids
usually lives for days

9. Summary Life Cycle Stages:
1. Egg: found on leaves and stems of milkweed plants, tiny, oval in shape and hatches in 3-5 days
2. Caterpillar: long and worm like, usually brightly colored with an interesting pattern and sheds its skin a couple of times because it’s growing bigger
3. Chrysalis: transformation stage, usually brown or green, made when a caterpillar spins silk and attaches itself to a branch and takes days for the butterfly to be ready
4. Adult Butterfly: the butterfly is fully developed, it doesn’t grow anymore and it can only eat liquids

10. Acknowledgements
Butterfly stages chart
Monarch butterfly picture
caterpillar picture
Butterfly eggs picture
Butterfly stages information
Chrysalis picture
Butterfly life cycle video
Butterfly emerging from chrysalis website pictures