by Regina Cutter Edwards – Entomologist
What is Metamorphosis?
Butterfly metamorphosis is a four stage process known as complete metamorphosis. Butterflies have adapted and made it through unimaginable obstacles. They are holometabolous, experiencing a complete metamorphosis, or in other words, a complete change in body form.
Butterfly Fun for Kids! Learn how they grow wings!
The butterfly life cycle includes the egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult butterfly. Butterflies begin life as an egg; the larva hatches and pupates into an immobile state, and an adult butterfly emerges, looking nothing like their pre-pupated state. This is complete metamorphosis, the four stages of the butterfly life cycle.
Table of Contents
Butterfly Life Cycle 4 Stages:
Read on to learn more about these complicated yet fascinating four stages of a butterfly’s life!
1 – Butterfly Egg
The butterfly egg is spherical or ovate shaped, varying in color and size. It is covered by chorion, a hard shell that protects the egg, and is lined with a waxy layer that prevents dehydration. It is full of nutrients and is commonly the first meal for the newly hatched larva.
How Eggs are Fertilized
The female has a small opening called a micropyle which allows sperm to enter to fertilize the egg..
How Does a Butterfly Attach an Egg to a Plant?
To protect the egg and embryo that is forming, the eggs are attached to a leaf by the butterfly using an adhesive-like substance that glues the egg to the plant leaf. The nature of the “glue” is still relatively unknown in the scientific community. For protection, the eggs are often laid on the underneath side of the leaf so as not to be visible to predators.
It is essential for the eggs to be laid on the host plant for that particular butterfly species. Eggs are sometimes laid in groups, although many butterflies such as the Monarch lay their eggs singly. The average time for the embryo to develop is 7-14 days, but in instances where the egg is the overwintering stage, the embryo may take months to develop.
Read more: How To Identify Butterfly Eggs
Stage 2 – Butterfly Larva (Caterpillar)
The larva stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is a time for growth. It feeds on its host plants, ranging from a single plant species to many different species. Follow along to learn the process of how caterpillars grow.
How Do Caterpillars Grow?
As caterpillars grow, they shed their exoskeleton. The exoskeleton is the support and protective structure outside the body. This process is called molting or ecdysis and is triggered primarily by hormones. The caterpillar forms a new cuticle underneath the old cuticle.
How Many Instars Do Caterpillars Have?
Enzymes are secreted between the layers dissolving the muscle attachments to the old cuticle so the new cuticle can form without being exposed and the old cuticle can be shed. Each stage between molts is called an instar. Caterpillars usually have five instars before pupating, in which the same molting process occurs.
How Do Caterpillars Survive?
Caterpillars have developed some interesting techniques to protect themselves. A common characteristic is camouflaging. Many caterpillars resemble plant parts, bird droppings or may look frightening to scare off predators. Many swallowtail caterpillars have huge ‘eye spots’ on their thorax regions and are able to inflate their body to appear snake-like.
Swallowtail caterpillars also have an osmeterium, an interesting looking Y-shaped gland that protrudes out from above their head, producing a smelly scent. A few caterpillars are brightly colored and usually can save plant toxins in their bodies, making them poisonous to predators. Or, they may mimic other poisonous caterpillars while being completely harmless. The same is true for caterpillars that are covered in body hairs – some have stinging body hairs to prevent getting eaten.
Read more: How Caterpillars are Protected from Predators
As the caterpillar reaches the final instar, the wing pads have already begun developing. Right before the pupa stage, the pads are forced out by the hemolymph, insect ‘blood,’ and by the time the larva has shed the exoskeleton to form the pupa, the wings are firmly attached to the body. This is why you can see the shape of the wings on the chrysalis.
Stage 3 – Pupa (Chrysalis)
The pupa stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is a time for a complete change. The pupa, also known as a chrysalis, is a vessel in which the caterpillar changes into a winged butterfly.
The process begins with the prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) triggering the caterpillar to quit eating and start wandering to a place to pupate, which is usually on twigs or other safe areas around their host plants but not necessarily on the host plants. Some butterfly species that overwinter as a chrysalis may pupate in the leaf litter close to the ground.
The chrysalis is immobile, so it is important that it be camouflaged into the environment. For example, the Spicebush Swallowtail’s chrysalis takes on a brown or green color depending on the color of its surroundings. Many chrysalides are leaf shaped and vary in color from yellow, brown, and green to silver and gold. Some chrysalides have the ability to wiggle and make a hissing sound to frighten predators.
How Caterpillar Changes Into Chrysalis
Butterflies go through a really amazing metamorphosis when being transformed from a caterpillar to an adult. The process inside the chrysalis is very intense. The insect’s body basically is liquefied by digestive fluids and the body is restructured using specialized formative cells. This process is called histogenesis, in which undifferentiated cells are used to build different body tissues. This is similar to the building of tissues that can be done with stem cells in other animals.
Read more: How To Identify Caterpillars
Stage 4 – Adult Butterfly
The adult stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is a time for reproduction. The adult is also known as an imago; they have fully developed wings and are sexually mature. When the adult first emerges from the chrysalis, their wings are wet and crinkled.
How Long for Butterfly Wings to Dry?
They are able to pump fluid through their bodies into the wings to help them expand. Once their wings are fully expanded, they may take 30 minutes up to a couple of hours to dry. They are then ready to fly. After the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, there will be a colored fluid that is released from the chrysalis; this is called meconium which is excess fluid the butterfly did not need.
The adult butterfly’s primary instinctive behavior in life is to search for a mate of the same species and produce viable offspring to carry on their genes. This includes making sure the eggs are laid on the correct host plant. Some butterflies lay their eggs in groups, while others lay them singly because the first instar caterpillars can be cannibalistic and will eat the other eggs.
Read more: Butterfly Identification
Predictability of Life
Butterflies have been around for millions of years. They have evolved to withstand many obstacles they have encountered throughout the years, including predators and environmental occurrences.
The dramatic differences in their life stages have given them the extra benefit of the larva and adult not having to compete with one another for resources, such as food. These mysteries to us have proven over time to be the predictable life for a butterfly.
Butterfly Metamorphosis is Complex
While scientists do understand a great deal about butterfly metamorphosis, there are still some aspects of the process that are not fully understood.
Next Up…
- Who are Butterflies Predators?
- Life Cycle Diagram and Identification Photos
- The Anatomy Of Butterflies
- How To Find Eggs, Caterpillars, and Chrysalis
Photo Credits: Fred Miller and Diane P. Brooks
References:
Borror, D. J., Triplehorn C.A., Johnson, N.F. 1992. An Introduction to the Study of Insects (6th Ed). New York: Saunders College Publishing.
Powell, J.A. 2003. Lepidoptera (Moths, Butterflies). Encyclopedia of insects. Ed. Vincent H. Resh, Ring T. Cardé. New York: Academic Press. p 631-664.
Riddiford, L.M. 2003. Molting. Encyclopedia of insects. Ed. Vincent H. Resh, Ring T. Cardé. New York: Academic Press. p 733-738.
