Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly

The life cycle of the monarch butterfly is similar to other living organisms. Above are pictures of the life cycle. The monarch butterfly starts out as an egg about the size of a pencil tip, once it hatches it is a young caterpillar. The caterpillar first eats is shell then eats all of the milkweed it can. Once it's skin becomes too tight it will molt or shed it's skin for a looser one. The caterpillar will do this four times before going into it's next stage which is the chrysalis or pupa. The chrysalis is green with gold dots towards the top. The final stage of the life cycle is the emerging of the butterfly. Once the butterfly comes out of the pupa it must dry it's wings for about 3 hours before it can take flight. The butterfly will begin to look for nectar to eat.