I took Zander to the library today to see a Lucas Miller concert. He is a singing zooalogist and I love how he teaches the kids about animals. Today, he taught them about the Texas state insect, which is the Monarch Butterfly. Here is what we learned, and his song on video (the video came off the internet, not from the concert we went to.)
The Monarch is unique among butterflies in that it is the only species of butterfly that does not hibernate, but migrates in changing seasons. It undergoes four changes in form (metamorphoses) during its lifetime:
- It begins as a tiny egg.
- In the second stage it becomes a black, yellow and white striped caterpillar (larva). During this stage, the caterpillar sheds its skin (molts) up to four times as it grows to its full length of about two inches.
- In its third stage, the monarch forms a protective covering called a chrysalis, or pupa. This pupa is shiny and green with gold speckles.
- In its final stage, the monarch emerges from the pupa as a beautiful black and orange butterfly. This entire process takes about a month. There are usually three to four generations of monarchs produced each year.
5 comments:
Ahhh, yes. The monarch! I didn't know it was our State Butterfly, but cool. We do have a ton of them that migrate through!!!
We saw one just yesterday as a matter of fact. =0)
They are beautiful and very interesting. How neat.
How fun! AS a kinder teacher we watch the life cycle of a Monarch each year. It is so cool. And at the end of the unit, we are able to watch them fly away! What a fun and interesting afternoon.
We love butterflies around here for sure! They are soo pretty!
Love the video!
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