The lifecycle of the monarch butterfly is complex
The first thing that I noticed when I saw this beautiful monarch chrysalis were the rings of gold spots lining its exterior. I thought to myself, how in the world was this color created by an insect?! It actually comes from the carotenoid pigments from the caterpillar’s milkweed diet. The monarch chrysalis is the pupal stage of the monarch, just before it becomes an adult butterfly. This is a key stage as they progress through their lifecycle. In this post we’ll learn more about monarchs and their importance to the environment.
The lifecycle of the monarch butterfly is just as complex as other members of the Lepidoptera order, which includes all moths and butterflies. Their metamorphosis starts with a butterfly laying eggs. Female monarchs lay eggs individually, typically on the underside of a milkweed plant’s young leaves. This normally takes place in the spring and summer. They apply a small amount of glue to attach the eggs directly to the plant. In a short three to five weeks, they can lay as many as 500 eggs! The eggs take three to eight days to develop, at which point they hatch into caterpillars, which are the larval stage of the monarch butterfly, and the step before the monarch chrysalis is formed.
The larva of a monarch butterfly is a beautifully striped caterpillar. They have white, yellow, and black bands that encircle their bodies. On the caterpillar’s head is a yellow triangle. They grow to be about one to 2” long by the time they are ready to pupate. There are five instars, or stages, of the caterpillar. During each instar, the caterpillar has distinct characteristics that define that specific stage.
The pupal or chrysalis stage of the monarch is the last stage before it turns into a butterfly. The monarch chrysalis is found in a place that the caterpillar identified as safe. It spins a silk pad on a downward-facing horizontal surface, like on the bottom side of a branch. It will hang onto this silk pad with its back legs in a J-shape. After a few hours, the skin behind its head will split, and it will shed its skin revealing the formed chrysalis underneath. It slowly takes on the distinctive green and gold-speckled color and shape of the monarch chrysalis that is seen in this photograph.
The pupal or chrysalis stage of the monarch is the last stage before it turns into a butterfly
Adult Stage
The adult stage of the monarch butterfly occurs after about eight to fifteen days. The photo here shows a monarch chrysalis that is between 12 and 24 hours of eclosing—when the adult butterfly will emerge. The adult’s wingspan is 3.5 to 4 inches wide. When they first emerge from the chrysalis, the adult butterfly will hang upside down for a few hours as it pumps fluids and air into its wings. This completes the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly, at which point the adults will lay eggs and the process starts over again.
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