Life+Cycle-Ashley+Price

Topic: Life Cycle

Author: Ashley Price

Point of View: Life cycle and life needs of a Monarch caterpillar larva to evolved butterfly.

Grade level: First grade

Choice of tool: Wikipages, youtube. Microsoft Photo Movie

Dramatic question: Did you know that each butterfly has a special plant which with it corresponds?

Purpose: to inform and educate students on the life cycle from egg to larva to caterpillar to butterfly, key words such as: cocoon, chrysallis, pupa, and metamorphosis. Students will learn the life needs of a caterpillar and what plants correspond to that particular species of butterfly. Students will also learn how to create a habitat and care for butterflies with the newly learned knowledge. Students will able to recall the life expectancy and defensive mechanisms of a butterfly.

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Milkweed plant, needed for laying eggs and forming chrysallis.

Defense mechanism, camoflauge. Caterpillar spinning cocoon

Butterfly emergin from cocoon The female antenna and wing span are larger than the male Monarch. returns to corresponding milkweed plant.



Script: Did you know that each butterfly has a special plant which with it corresponds? Milkweed is vital to the existence of the Monarch species because it is the only type of plant that caterpillars can eat. There are over 20,000 different types of butterflies known worldwide. Today, we are going to focus on the life cycle, life needs, and corresponding plant of the Monarch butterfly. Originating from Utah, the Monarch butterfly tends to come out to lay its eggs in the late Spring to late Summer months. Starting off as an egg, adult female Monarchs lay their eggs on the Milkweed plant. For the Monarch butterfly, the Milkweed plant is their home until adulthood. Female Monarchs can lay up to 300 eggs at one time. The eggs are usually a green color to blend into the leaf that they are left upon as a defense mechanism. As the eggs are camouflaged from predators, they have a better chance at metamorphosis. After about four days, the Monarch egg is now going through a life cycle called metamorphosis changing into a caterpillar larva. For the next ten days the caterpillar grows in size, feeding on the leaves of the milkweed, but actually starts its feeding with its own eggshell. The larger in size, the more visible the caterpillar's colors are: black, white, and a light yellow orange, very similar to the colors of the butterfly. As a caterpillar, the Monarch will grow to be up to 2" with eight full legs after it has shed its skin five different times. Once the caterpillars is full and well-fed, it will begin to spin its cocoon, or chrysalis. This stage is called the pupa stage as the caterpillar is not actually spinning anything, but shedding its last layer of skin which happens to be a light green color. The pupa stage can continue up to another two weeks, as the shell hardens around the caterpillar a beautiful transformation is taking place inside. Soon, a bright orange Monarch butterfly emerges from within. The complete life cycle of the Monarch butterfly takes up to a month an half. Now that the butterfly has hatched out of its pupa, the Monarch will no longer eat leaves but instead sip nectar out of flowers. The wingspan of the Monarch expands to be almost 5" in width. The colors of the Monarch are bright orange with black and white spots to act as yet another defense mechanism. The large black dots confuse predators to think the butterfly body is larger than it really is. The female butterfly tends to have a slightly larger wingspan and antenna. Once the butterflies mate, the cycle starts again as the female butterfly lays her hundreds of eggs upon another milkweed plant. Once the eggs are laid, the Monarch butterfly only lives for up to another five weeks.