monarch caterpillars eating milkweed leaves
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Stockphotos.ro (c) 2025. All stock photos are provided by Dreamstime and are copyrighted by their respective owners.
monarch caterpillars eating milkweed leaves |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| navigate by keyword : monarch caterpillars eating milkweed leaf leaves butterfly simply danaus plexippus subfamily danainae family nymphalidae like lepidoptera monarchs undergo complete metamorphosis life cycle four phases egg larva pupa adult caterpillar five stages instars molting instar last days depending factors temperature food availability completes growth long large specimens reach wide weighs compared fifth larvae greatly increase size weight stop feeding found plants seek site pupating |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Like all Lepidoptera, monarchs undergo complete metamorphosis their life cycle has four phases: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The larva (caterpillar) has five stages (instars), molting at the end of each instar. Instars last about 3 to 5 days, depending on factors such as temperature and food availability. As the caterpillar completes its growth, it is 4.5Â cm (1.8Â in) long (large specimens can reach 5Â cm (2.0Â in) and 7 to 8Â mm (0.28 to 0.31Â in) wide, and weighs about 1.5Â g (0.053Â oz), compared to the first instar, which is 2 to 6Â mm (0.079 to 0.236Â in) long and 0.5 to 1.5Â mm (0.020 to 0.059Â in) wide. Fifth-instar larvae greatly increase in size and weight. They then stop feeding and are often found far from milkweed plants as they seek a site for pupating. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stockphotos.ro (c) 2025. All stock photos are provided by Dreamstime and are copyrighted by their respective owners. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||