The Life Cycle of the Butterflyby

Catherine Carabott

Phase 1:The Egg• After mating the

female butterfly lays eggs on the underside of a leaf.

• The eggs are about the size of a pinhead.

• They can be round, oval or cylindrical.

• They are usually white, cream or light green.

Phase 2:The Caterpillar

• The tiny worm like insect hatches out of the egg.• It first eats the egg shell then turns to the

surrounding leaves.• It eats enormously and grows to 100 times its

original size.

•The caterpillar has a head and 13 body segments.•3 real legs and 5 false legs (suckers)

The Caterpillar’s Body

Phase 3:The Pupa or Chrysalis

• When it is time, it attaches itself upside down to a branch.

• It changes colour and its body contracts.

• It spins a girdle of silk round its middle for support.

• It stops feeding, splits its skin for the last time to reveal the pupa.

Phase 4:The butterfly

• When the changes are complete the case of the pupa splits.

• The butterfly struggles out of the shell.

• Its wings are small and soft at first.

• When these harden, expand and dry the butterfly is ready to fly!

Click on the image to view the video.

Click on the arrow or on the white space to go to the next slide.

Life Cycle of the Butterfly

Click on the image to view the video.

Click on the arrow or on the white space to go to the next slide.

The adult butterfly

• The butterfly lives only for a few days or weeks.

• The body of the butterfly is divided into 3: the head, thorax and the abdomen.

• It has a pair of compound eyes and two long antennae which help it to smell and touch.

• It has a long tube called the proboscis for sipping nectar.

Coloration

The wings are covered by:

• thousands of tiny scales arranged like tiles on a roof and

• they have short stalks which fit into minute sockets on the wing.

These create wonderful colours and patterns which produce striking colourful effects.

……..why?Colour to recognise:• other butterflies of their own kinds• males from females butterflies• find a mate of their own speciesColour as a warning:• Some poisonous and bad-tasting

butterflies use their bright colours to advertise they are not eatable

Colour as a camouflage:• To protect themselves from

enemies by blending into the environment.

Colour as a mimicry device:• To imitate another insect which is

dangerous so that they are avoided by their enemies

Different types of butterflies

Queen Alexandras Birdwing

The biggest butterfly

The Dwarf Blue

The smallest butterfly The Painted Lady

A migrating species

The Cabbage White butterfly

The most common butterfly found in Malta.

Some Butterflies of the Maltese Islands

Swallow Tail

Farfett tal-Fej[el Plain Tiger

Farfett ta’ Danaus

Some Butterflies of the Maltese Islands

Pigmy Skipper

Ba]ri

Common Blue

Farfett ta’ l-An[lu

Some Butterflies of the Maltese Islands

Red Admiral

Farfett tal-}urrieq

Painted Lady

Farfett tax-Xewk

A butterfly’s day …….

•Butterflies are usually active only during the day.

•They are cold-blooded, like reptiles.

•They need to get their body heat

from the sun.

A butterfly’s day …….

•They lie in the sun with their wings outstretched.

•They cool themselves by finding shade.

•They shelter under leaves in rain and at night.

How does a butterfly spend its day?

They seem to flutter around aimlessly in the sun however their main task is to search for food.

What kind of food?

•Mainly nectar from flowers however some also feed on

•Rotting fruit

•Aphid’s honeydew

•Tree sap and

•Animal debris

One purpose…………

Their main objective is:

•To mate

and

•Lay eggs

Friends and Enemies

They are our friends because:

•they are very efficient flower pollinators.

Friends and Enemies

They are our enemies because:

•hungry caterpillars devour garden and field vegetables.

Friends and Enemies

Birds, spiders and wasps feed on caterpillars, pupae and eggs.

Spiders also hunt butterflies.

Butterflies also have their own enemies.

Migration

•They stop to rest in trees in bad weather and at night.

•The direction and strength of the wind determines where they end up.

Some butterflies migrate: they fly from one part of the world to another. Why?

•Lack of food•Overcrowding

•Some cover remarkable distances.

•Sometimes they arrive in enormous numbers and in other years only a few arrive.

•Cold weather•Changes in the environment

Danger…………..extinction?

The numbers of butterflies are sadly decreasing!

Why? Their habitat is threatened by man!

How?

•Deforestation: wild areas are being cleared and replanted with agricultural

crops

•Pollution: crops are sprayed with pesticides

•Lack of specific food plants

A world without butterflies?

So what can be done? We can protect them by:

Not

•collecting

butterflies.

•using pesticides.

Yes

to

•Planting nectar-

producing flowers

•Preserving their

natural habitat.

A world without butterflies?