How long butterflies stay in their cocoon

Each time they do their appearance will change, sometimes rather dramatically. Black Swallowtails, for example, have five instars or five different stages between the hatching from the egg and the time of pupation.

The number of instars varies between butterfly species. The caterpillar on the right is in its fifth instar and will soon pupate, or molt, one last time to become a chrysalis. The total time that the butterfly stays in the caterpillar stage is about weeks and varies based on the species and the growing conditions. It is believed that the caterpillar stage is the most dangerous in the life cycle of a butterfly as the mortality rates are very high.

Caterpillars are subject to weather conditions, disease, parasites and predators. Many adult butterfly species lay hundreds of eggs with only a few surviving to become adults. The picture on the left shows a Black Swallowtail caterpillar getting ready to pupate or form a chrysalis. It has made a silk mat and attached itself at the base. The caterpillar also spun a string of silk around its body and attached the strings to the branch to hold the chrysalis in place in the same way that a telephone linesman uses a leather belt to attach to the pole.

Not all butterfly species attach in the same way. Chrysalis It's common to call the shell where a butterfly completes its metamorphosis a cocoon, but that's technically incorrect. Time Frame Different species of butterflies stay in the chrysalis, or pupal stage, for different periods of time.

Scorpion Gestation. What's the difference between a butterfly and a moth? How long does a butterfly live? In the wild, most butterflies live about 7 to 10 days, if not eaten first. In captivity, butterflies can survive for 2 to 3 weeks. Some species of butterflies modify their nectar diet to include rotten fruit, pollen and animal excrement, and can live as long as 3 to 6 months, or even longer. The modified diet provides the butterflies with valuable amino acids that can help prolong life spans.

What are the stages of a butterfly's life cycle? There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly: the egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis and the adult. Briefly, a butterfly starts as an egg. After about 4 to 5 days some species take up to 3 weeks or longer , the egg hatches and a tiny larva caterpillar emerges.

The larva starts to eat and will shed its skin 4 to 6 times as it gets bigger and bigger. This stage can take between 10 to 15 days.

Finally, the adult butterfly emerges from the pupa. Adult butterflies will mate, the female will lay eggs and the life cycle starts over. What is the difference between a pupa, chrysalis and a cocoon? Pupa and chrysalis have the same meaning: the transformation stage between the larva and the adult.

While pupa can refer to this naked stage in either a butterfly or moth, chrysalis is strictly used for the butterfly pupa. Its wings are crumpled from being folded inside the chrysalis.

The butterfly must hang upside down and pump fluid stored in its abdomen up through the veins in its wings to straighten them. Then, the butterfly must wait for the damp wings to dry and harden until they are ready to use. Blue morpho butterflies are native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. These butterflies are famous for their bright, translucent blue wings that appear blue due to reflected light rather than pigment.

Like the monarch butterfly, morpho butterflies emerge from a green chrysalis, though a morpho's chrysalis is much plumper and has fewer golden spots. Unlike the monarch's chrysalis, a blue morpho's chrysalis never becomes completely transparent. Instead, the chrysalis becomes partially brown and partially transparent with a milky-white quality just before a blue morpho butterfly is ready to emerge.

Amazingly, blue morphos have developed a way to protect themselves from predators even in their vulnerable chrysalis stage. The chrysalis of this butterfly emits a repulsive ultrasonic sound when touched, which drives predators away. Mechanitis polymnia butterflies are small, thin-bodied butterflies native to South America. They have small rounded wings, long yellow antennae, and coloration similar to that of monarchs with a bit of yellow and white mixed in.

The most impressive stage of the Mechanitis polymnia's life cycle, by far, occurs before the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis. Mechanitis polymnia chrysalises are nearly solid gold with bold black and brown stripes patterned throughout.