Butterflies have fascinated people, including scientists, for generations not only because of their beautifully colored wings but also because butterflies represent the final stage in a fascinating life cycle. Butterflies begin life as caterpillars – wormlike bugs with many legs whose primary purpose is to consume enough energy to create a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar's body changes, until it eventually emerges as a butterfly. This process is known as metamorphosis. Most butterflies emerge from their chrysalises in about 10 to 14 days, but butterfly chrysalises vary from species to species.
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Most butterflies take about 10 to 14 days to emerge from their chrysalises, though the color and other characteristics of chrysalises vary from species to species. The chrysalises of monarch, blue morpho and Mechanitis polymnia butterflies vary in several ways.
How a Chrysalis Is Formed
The word "chrysalis" is often used interchangeably with the word "cocoon," but the two are not the same. Only butterfly caterpillars form chrysalises, and only moth caterpillars spin cocoons. Unlike a cocoon, which is spun from thread produced by a moth caterpillar, chrysalises exist inside a butterfly caterpillar and emerge once the process of metamorphosis begins. To form a chrysalis, a butterfly caterpillar does not use silk. Instead, it hangs upside down from a leaf or other sturdy structure and sheds the outer layer of its skin. Underneath is a perfectly formed chrysalis, which hardens like a tough outer skin. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar's body liquefies and rearranges to form a butterfly. Some butterflies emerge from their chrysalises differently than others.
Monarch Butterflies
One of the most famous butterflies in the world thanks to their flashy orange wings and migratory habits, the beautiful monarch emerges from an equally beautiful chrysalis. A monarch chrysalis is light green with a series of shimmering, golden dots on the outside. From a distance, this chrysalis could be confused with a shiny, under-ripe fruit, but the monarch chrysalis doesn't stay green for long. After around 10 to 14 days, its green color fades, and the chrysalis becomes transparent. This allows an observer to see the fully formed butterfly within. When the seam along the top of the chrysalis splits, the monarch emerges. Like all butterflies, it is not ready to fly right away. Its wings are crumpled from being folded inside the chrysalis. The butterfly must hang upside down and pump fluid stored in its abdomen up through the veins in its wings to straighten them. Then, the butterfly must wait for the damp wings to dry and harden until they are ready to use.
Blue Morpho Butterflies
Blue morpho butterflies are native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. These butterflies are famous for their bright, translucent blue wings that appear blue due to reflected light rather than pigment. Like the monarch butterfly, morpho butterflies emerge from a green chrysalis, though a morpho's chrysalis is much plumper and has fewer golden spots. Unlike the monarch's chrysalis, a blue morpho's chrysalis never becomes completely transparent. Instead, the chrysalis becomes partially brown and partially transparent with a milky-white quality just before a blue morpho butterfly is ready to emerge. Amazingly, blue morphos have developed a way to protect themselves from predators even in their vulnerable chrysalis stage. The chrysalis of this butterfly emits a repulsive ultrasonic sound when touched, which drives predators away.
Mechanitis Polymnia Butterflies
Mechanitis polymnia butterflies are small, thin-bodied butterflies native to South America. They have small rounded wings, long yellow antennae, and coloration similar to that of monarchs with a bit of yellow and white mixed in. The most impressive stage of the Mechanitis polymnia's life cycle, by far, occurs before the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis. Mechanitis polymnia chrysalises are nearly solid gold with bold black and brown stripes patterned throughout. These metallic chrysalises are what give the butterfly part of its name: mechanitis. It is a reference to the machinelike quality of the highly unusual-looking chrysalises. As strange as the chrysalises may seem, Mechanitis polymnia butterflies emerge in the same way as other butterflies and in the same amount of time – about 10 to 14 days.
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The butterfly and moth develop through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape. Insects have two common types of metamorphosis. Grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, and cockroaches
have incomplete metamorphosis. The young (called a nymph) usually look like small adults but without the wings. Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food. There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs are laid on plants by the adult female butterfly. These plants will then become the food for the hatching caterpillars. Eggs can be laid from spring, summer or fall. This depends on the species of butterfly. Females lay a lot of eggs at once so that at least some of
them survive. Butterfly eggs can be very small. Egg
Caterpillar: The Feeding Stage
The next stage is the larva. This is also called a caterpillar if the insect is a butterfly or a moth.
The job of the caterpillar is to eat and eat and eat. As the caterpillar grows it splits its skin and sheds it about 4 or 5 times. Food eaten at this time is stored and used later as an adult.
Caterpillars can grow 100 times their size during this stage. For example, a monarch butterfly egg is the size of a pinhead and the caterpillar that hatches from this tiny egg isn't much bigger. But it will grow up to 2 inches long in several weeks.
Pupa: The Transition Stage
When the caterpillar is full grown and stops eating, it becomes a pupa. The pupa of butterflies is also called a chrysalis.
Depending on the species, the pupa may suspended under a branch, hidden in leaves or buried underground. The pupa of many moths is protected inside a coccoon of silk.
This stage can last from a few weeks, a month or even longer. Some species have a pupal stage that lasts for two years.
It may look like nothing is going on but big changes are happening inside. Special cells that were present in the larva are now growing rapidly. They will become the legs, wings, eyes and other parts of the adult butterfly. Many of the original larva cells will provide energy for these growing adult cells.
Adult: The Reproductive Stage
The adult stage is what most people think of when they think of butterflies. They look very different from the larva. The caterpillar has a few tiny eyes, stubby legs and very short antennae. The adults have long legs, long antennae, and compound eyes. They can also fly by using their large and colorful wings. The one thing they can't do is grow.
The caterpillar's job was to eat. The adult's job is to mate and lay eggs. Some species of adult butterflies get energy by feeding on nectar from flowers but many species don't feed at all.
Flying comes in handy. The adult female can easily fly from place to place to find the right plant for its eggs. This is important because caterpillars can't travel far.
Most adult butterflies live only one or two weeks, but some species hibernate during the winter and may live several months.
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