It takes approximately 28 days for an egg to mature into an adult butterfly. The caterpillar emerges from the egg in approximately 3 days, going through 5 instars (stages) before it becomes a chrysalis. In an another 10-14 days it ecloses (emerges) as an adult butterfly. The adult female only lays eggs on milkweed, the host plant for its young.
 |
| Monarch Egg on Milkweed |
 |
| Caterpillar on Swamp Milkweed |
 |
| Monarch in Chrysalis |
 |
| Caterpillar in "J" position before it converts to chrysalis |
 |
| Adult Monarch Butterfly |
No comments:
Post a Comment