4 Caterpillars and butterflies

Caterpillars and butterflies

毛毛虫和蝴蝶

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.

神奇的昆虫。蝴蝶是长着美丽翅膀的飞虫。 它们最初是毛毛虫。 这是一只孔雀蝴蝶。 它翅膀上的斑点看起来像孔雀尾巴上的斑点。

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.

小鸡蛋。蝴蝶在树叶和树枝上产卵。 鸡蛋很粘，所以不会掉下来。 一些蝴蝶在短短几周内产下1000多个卵。

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.

许多鸡蛋有一层厚而粗糙的外壳。 每颗蛋里都有毛毛虫在生长。 几天后它们就可以孵化了。 蝴蝶卵有不同的形状。 有些鸡蛋看起来像圆珍珠。 其他的蛋又长又细。 一些像珠子一样挂在一根绳子上。

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.

孵化出来。毛毛虫在卵上咬了一个洞，然后爬了出来。 这只卷心菜白色的毛虫正在孵化。 你可以看到其他还在卵里的小毛毛虫。

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.

首先，毛毛虫吃了它的蛋。 这给了它能量。它仍然很饿，所以它吃了鸡蛋上面的叶子。 然后它继续吃同一种植物的更多叶子。 毛毛虫有强壮的下颚。 它们可以在几秒钟内咀嚼一片叶子。