4 Caterpillars and butterflies

Caterpillars and butterflies

Amazing insects. Butterflies are flying insects with beautiful wings. They begin life as caterpillars. This is a peacock butterfly. The spots on its wings look like the marks on a peacock's tail.

Tiny eggs. Butterflies lay eggs on leaves and twigs. The eggs are sticky, so they don't fall off. Some butterflies lay more than a thousand eggs in just a few weeks.

Many eggs have a thick, rough covering. A caterpillar is growing inside each egg. They will be ready to hatch in a few days. Butterfly eggs come in different shapes. Some eggs look like round pearls. Other eggs are long and thin. A few hang like beads on a string.

Hatching out. A caterpillar bites a hole in its egg and wriggles out. This cabbage white caterpillar is hatching. You can see other tiny caterpillars, still inside their eggs.

First a caterpillar eats its egg. This gives it energy. It is still hungry, so it eats the leaf the egg was on. Then it moves on to eat more leaves from the same plant. Caterpillars have strong jaws. They can munch through a leaf in seconds.