Life Cycle

Egg - The Monarch butterfly starts its life as an egg smaller than an inch long. The eggs are always laid one by one, on the bottom of milkweed leaves. The female attaches the egg to the leaf with quick-drying glue which she squirts along with the egg. The egg hatches in about 3 to 5 days. A tiny wormlike larva emerges.

Larva - The larva or the caterpillar hatches from its egg and eats it. Then it eats milkweed leaves just about frequently. The caterpillar molts (sheds its old skin) four times while it grows. The caterpillar eats its old skin after each molt. When the larva is about 2 inches long, it will stop eating and find a place that is protected like a branch on which to pupate.

Pupa - The caterpillar turns into a pupa or a chrysalis. The caterpillar spins silk from its spinneret. It also attaches its hind end to a branch. It hangs its head down and molts for the last time. When the newly-exposed skin dries and gets very hard, it takes the form of a jade green colored chrysalis. During this stage the caterpillar turns into a butterfly as its whole body is restructured. The chrysalis is too small for the butterflies' big wings. In about 10-12 days the chrysalis becomes transparent and a damp butterfly soon emerges.

Adult - A beautiful but damp adult emerges from the chrysalis. It pumps liquid into the wing veins to inflate them. They soon dry, but during this process, the butterfly is extremely vulnerable to predators. There is no growth during the adult stage. It can only eat liquids, which it does through its proboscis . This adult will continue the cycle by reproducing.