Monarch Butterfly Complete Metamorphosis Life Cycle Caterpillar, Larva, Chrysalis, Pupa Slide Show
Posted by David on October 22, 2007
This post is a little different than the normal writing blog. The main focus here is pictures. You know the old saying,”a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, in this case in particular, it is very true. Below are links to pictures showing in detail the transformation of a caterpillar to a chrysalis, and then, a chrysalis into a butterfly.
I have had a deep fascination with insects, especially Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) literally since kindergarten. Instead of playing “Cowboys and Indians” with the neighbor kids I was out in a nearby field poking around at all sorts of critters. However, it was always the mystery of the beauty and flight of the butterflies that deeply absorbed my attention.
It really was an all consuming passion. Early grade school years saw me collecting butterflies and then going to the college library to classify them. When it was possible to travel a little south of northern Minnesota it was challenging to see if I could find hybrids of white banded and red spotted purples. I thought about things like,” Female white morph sulpher butterflies are so common; why can’t I find any white males?” and so on.
One outcome of this rather eccentric childhood is the photos presented below.
Here are two sets of pictures of a monarch butterfly complete metamorphosis life cycle.
In the first set the entire metamorphosis, including the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, was captured however, the slides are not the crisp quality of the set of digital images. They do a good job of getting the point across. Link here to a set showing metamorphosis taken with 35mm slides about forty years ago in Bemidji, Minnesota.
The digital photos show a nice sequence of the caterpillar to chrysalis transformation as well as showing the developing colors of the butterfly within the chrysalis prior to emergence. Sadly, I missed the actual butterfly emergence this time around. Click on the link to see the digital photos taken August 2007 in Richmond Kentucky.
For more on metamorphosis and a few facts about butterflies and other invertebrates go to http://lifecycle.onenessbecomesus.com There are more pictures, facts, and links to other related sites you should enjoy
