Butterflies
Butterflies go through a “complete metamorphosis,” meaning they go through four stages of life to reach adulthood. The four stages a butterfly goes through are unborn or egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis and adult (Gibbons, 1989; Opler, n.d.). “Each stage has a different goal for instance, caterpillars need to eat a lot, and adults need to reproduce” (Learn about Nature, n.d., para. 1). A life cycle for a butterfly may take as few as one month or as long as one year (Learn about Nature, n.d.). Male and female butterflies differ in the way their wings are shaped and colored. Female butterflies have black spots on their wings; sometimes they are hidden with the color, but they are more prevalent than males. Male butterflies wings are usually pointed at the top and no two butterflies have the exact same color or patterns of their wings (Watts, 1986).
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Reproduction
The reproductive stage begins with the male butterfly courting the female. Male butterflies continuously flap their wings to release dust carrying pheromones. The pheromones act as a sex stimulant. Some species of butterflies perform a more elaborate courtship to test the strength of the male; this also increases their chance at having healthy offspring (Net Industries, 2015). In some cases female butterflies can only mate once. Most females mate as many times as possible like males do and as soon as they emerge from the chrysalis, while male butterflies wait two or three day after emerging. The eggs are only fertilized by the last male the female mates with (Net Industries, 2015). The fertilizing position can be about two hours long, and then the female is left to lay the eggs (Watts, 1986).