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Monarch Butterfly egg
A monarch begins life as a single, greenish egg attached to the underside of a milkweed leaf. The worm-like larva grows inside the egg. When it is ready, the larva chews a small hole in the egg shell and wriggles its way into the world. After a few minutes, the newly hatched larva has its first meal -- the remains of its egg. -
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The Monarch Butterfly lifecycle
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Monarch caterpillar
After eating the shell, the larva begins to eat milkweed leaves. Milkweed is the only plant that monarch larvae will eat. The larva eats and grows, grows and eats. The larva grows so much that it outgrows its skin, much like outgrowing old clothes. -
Monacarch Chrysalis
The caterpilliar hooks on to a branch, and sheds its skin once more this time it reveals this time as the chrysalis -
Monarch Butterfly
A newly emerged butterfly will wait two or more hours before it can fly.After the wings have hardened, the butterfly flies away to find its first meal. From this point on, the monarch drinks all of its food. The butterfly will visit several different kinds of flowers to get its nectar dinner.
