Lovebunch
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| Joined: 20 Jun 2011 |
| Total Posts: 127 |
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| 30 Jul 2012 05:48 PM |
The Monarch Butterfly begins life as a pale green egg on a milkweed leaf. A tiny caterpillar emerges for or five days after the egg is deposited. This is the larval stage of the butterfly. The caterpillar immediately eats the eggshell and then the leaves of the milkweed, the only food it will eat thereafter. For about 12 days, the caterpillar does almost nothing but eat milkweed leaves, cutting off pieces with its strong jaws. By the end of that period, it will have molted three or four times. The caterpillar is then about 2 inches long and striped with bands of yellow, black and green. As the end of the larval stage draws near, the caterpillar begins spinning a silken thread from glands in its mouth and attaches one end to a leaf. The other end is tied to its rear. The skin splits and slowly slides off the body while the caterpillar hangs downward, revealing the third stage- the pupa or chrysalis. The chrysalis is a shiny, transparent green with several spots of gold. It hangs from the leaf for several days to three weeks, depending on the weather. Near the end of this period, the chrysalis turn very dark, and the wing pattern of the adult butterfly can be seen beneath the thin skin. Finally, the bottom of the chrysalis splits and out crawls the adult monarch butterfly. Its wings gradually expand and harden, and the butterfly starts to use its long, hollow, coiled, “tongue” to suck nectar from flowers. Usually, the adult will live four to six weeks, feeding occasionally but mostly just wandering from field to field. The last brood of summer, however, will migrate south, often in large numbers and journeying an incredible 2,500 miles. The brood lives longer-some of the monarchs live through the winter in Mexico or along the southern coasts of California. Many fly northward the next spring and begin the cycle of life over again. |
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Tdc88
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| Joined: 16 Feb 2009 |
| Total Posts: 9965 |
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