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From Egg to Enchantment

© Mary M. Alward

Can you imagine starting life as a small egg on a leaf of a milkweed plant? Chances are you'd feel pretty insignificant (unimportant.) The butterfly that laid you, found the host plant (where she lays her eggs) by using a combination of color, shape and chemicals. She is a female Monarch butterfly and she immediately abandons (leaves) you.

Five days later, you feel a change taking place. You move out of the egg. If you could look in a mirror, you'd see a tiny worm. You are a baby caterpillar.

You immediately get to work. You munch your way through many leaves. Your six legs help you move from one plant to another. You shed your skin. (This is called ecdysis.) This helps you grow. You will do this four times. You wonder what is happening? What does the future hold for you?

When you shed your skin for the fourth time, you realize you are inside a leathery pouch. This is the pupa or chrysalis. (pronounced chris -uh-lis) Depending on what type of butterfly you are, you may spin a cocoon or fasten yourself to a plant by a silken thread.

On the outside of the cocoon, it appears you are resting. Inside, where you are, is a bubbling hive of activity. In the next two or three weeks, you will turn to liquid and be recreated.

As you watch, your chrysalis skin becomes transparent (see through.) A child looking at you sees the coloring of your wings. Finally, the chrysalis skin splits. You crawl out into the world with damp, limp wings. You still have six legs, but now you have a compound eye and a proboscis (pronounced pro-bau-cis) for feeding. At first your wings are small and stubby. As you pump blood into them, they begin to enlarge. Gravity aids in the expansion.

You bask in the sun for a while, then lift your wings to fly into the air, giving the whole world a touch of enchantment. You see half an orange that someone has placed in their garden on a small plate. You land on it and use your proboscis to drink of the sweet juices. How delicious.

You lift your wings in flight once more. You flit and flutter in the afternoon breeze. Life is short. It's time to find a mate. You have transformed from a tiny egg on a plant into a beautiful butterfly.

Author's Note:

The copyright of the article From Egg to Enchantment in Science for Kids is owned by Mary M. Alward. Permission to republish From Egg to Enchantment in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.