IUBAT - INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
Assignment no 1
Title: The Life Cycle Of a Butterfly
COURSE CODE: CSC 104
SUBMITTED TO
SHEEKAR BANERJEE
SUBMITTED BY
REHENUMA AKTER LIMA
ID:24202006
Sec:Q
Butterfly Life Cycle
The butterfly and moth develop through a process called
metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means
transformation or change in shape.
Insects have two common types of metamorphosis.
Grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, and cockroaches have
incomplete metamorphosis. The young (called a nymph)
usually look like small adults but without the wings.
Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete
metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a
nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats
different types of food.
There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and
moths: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Egg
Eggs are laid on plants by
the adult female butterfly.
These plants will then
become the food for the
hatching caterpillars.
Eggs can be laid from
spring, summer or fall.
This depends on the
species of butterfly.
Females lay a lot of eggs
at once so that at least
some of them survive.
Butterfly eggs can be
very small.
Caterpillar: The Feeding
Stage
The next stage is the larva.
This is
also called a caterpillar if
the
insect is a butterfly or a
moth.
The job of the caterpillar is
to
eat and eat and eat. As the
caterpillar grows it splits its
skin and sheds it about 4 or
5 times. Food eaten at this
time is stored and used
later as an
[Link] can grow 100 times their size during this
stage. For example, a monarch butterfly egg is the size of a
pinhead and the caterpillar that hatches from this tiny egg isn't
much bigger. But it will grow up to 2 inches long in several weeks.
Pupa: The Transition Stage
When the caterpillar is full grown
and stops eating, it becomes a
pupa. The pupa of butterflies is
also called a chrysalis.
Depending on the species, the
pupa may suspended under a
branch, hidden in leaves or
buried underground. The pupa of
many moths is protected inside a
coccoon of silk.
This stage can last from a few weeks, a month or even longer.
Some species have a pupal stage that lasts for two years.
It may look like nothing is going on but big changes are
happening inside. Special cells that were present in the larva
are now growing rapidly. They will become the legs, wings,
eyes and other parts of the adult butterfly. Many of
theoriginal larva cells will provide energy for these growing
adult cells.
Adult: The Reproductive Stage
The adult stage is what most
people think of when they
think of [Link] look very different from the
[Link] caterpillar has a few tiny eyes, stubby legs and very
short antennae. The
adults have long legs,
long antennae, and
compound eyes. They
can also fly by using
their large and colorful
wings. The one thing
they can't do is grow.
The caterpillar's job was
to eat. The adult's job is
to mate and lay eggs. Some species of adult butterflies get
energy by feeding on nectar from flowers but many species
don't feed at all.
Flying comes in handy. The adult female can easily fly from
place to place to find the right plant for its eggs. This is
important because caterpillars can't travel far.
Most adult butterflies live only one or two weeks, but some
species hibernate during the winter and may live several
months.