Photo of the Day: Transformation

 

A monarch caterpillar chomps on the leaves of a milkweed plant as part of the cycle from egg to butterfly.  The life cycle of a monarch butterfly features four stages.  The first stage is the egg stage in which an adult butterfly lays eggs on a milkweed plant.  Four days after the eggs are laid, they hatch and begin stage two, the larva stage.  During this stage the colorful caterpillar seen here eats the host plant and grows for about two weeks before transitioning into stage three.  Stage three is the pupa or chrysalis stage and that is where the magic happens.  The caterpillar surrounds itself in a silky chrysalis and behind the veil, a complete metamorphism from caterpillar begins.  In about ten days, the beautiful monarch butterfly emerges and completes the cycle.  (Photo: October 30, 2020)