Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle

A leaf shows the route of a small caterpillar. The caterpillar is at a stage where the main thing is to feed in order to continue to the next stage.

The first cycle of a caterpillar , is to be a larva. The larva is born from the egg of a butterfly. Once the egg hatches, the larva feeds on it. The larva grows into a caterpillar and continues its cycle.

I did not manage to see this first part of a butterfly's cycle. A larva can be so tiny that it would be difficult to see it. Still, I managed to capture the following life cycles.

You can see how the caterpillar takes advantage of the leaf to feed. This leaf belongs to a plant called milkweed. This leaf provides the caterpillar with the nutrients it needs to survive.

In this cycle, the caterpillar devours as many leaves as possible until it reaches its ideal size, which is about 4 cm.

The caterpillar's mouthparts are chewing, which is why they cut the leaves so easily. Milkweed plants suffer when they receive these visits, but nature is wise, so there is nothing to worry about.

It takes at least fifteen days for the caterpillar to reach its ideal size. It is a slow process to go from larva to caterpillar.

The second image shows the final change. The caterpillar has fed enough to move on to the next cycle.

I detailed the morphology of the insect. Its body is flexible, it is easy to move, its legs have a strong grip, they act as suckers, they adhere to surfaces when they feel attacked. The colors of the caterpillar are bright, they stand out, that has a reason to be, to scare away its predators. These caterpillars are highly toxic to anyone who tries to eat them, obviously I am referring to another animal.

After reaching the size that turns them into adults, the insect passes to another phase which I found the most interesting of all.

A new moment arrives. The caterpillar leaves the milkweed plant to seek shelter. Incredibly, it finds a place where its predators cannot attack it. That place is usually dark, the more hidden the better.

The caterpillars observed looked for space under the potted plant or under a column.

At that moment something inexplicable happens. The caterpillar weaves a small cotton webbing, it is covered with its rear antenna, remaining in that position like the letter "J". The caterpillar seems to die, it loses its bright colors, a gelatinous liquid seems to sprout from its body, something similar to saliva. This gel (I don't know what to call it) covers the caterpillar until it forms a green cocoon with gold and black dots.

The cocoon has a light, fragile, brittle texture. If we take it in our hands exerting pressure, it will quickly break. I had the opportunity to touch one that did not achieve its final goal because it was attacked by an insect, I presume.

This leaves the caterpillar inside the cocoon. There it undergoes another incredible transformation. Its entire body disintegrates and builds itself up again.

Now, in its new life it will not be a caterpillar but a butterfly. It takes exactly 15 days for the butterfly to hatch from the chrysalis, open its wings and take flight.

I saw the hatching at the right time, in total there were five beautiful Monarch butterflies, two males and three females. Everything went perfect, just as I expected.

In Veezuela