The Butterfly Life Cycle

The Butterfly Life Cycle Written by Torrin Anderson Focus Question What is the life cycle of a monarch butterfly?

《蝴蝶的生命周期》 作者：托林·安德森 核心问题：黑脉金斑蝶的生命周期是什么样的？

The Life Cycle A monarch butterfly has four stages in its life cycle. They are egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult.

生命周期 黑脉金斑蝶的一生有四个阶段 分别是卵、毛毛虫、蛹和成虫。

Egg A female monarch butterfly lays an egg on the bottom of a leaf. She might lay several hundred eggs in her lifetime. The eggs are oval -shaped. A caterpillar grows inside the tiny egg. The egg hatches in three to twelve days.

卵 雌性黑脉金斑蝶会把卵产在叶子的背面。 它一生可能会产下数百枚卵， 卵是椭圆形的。 小小的卵里正在长出毛毛虫， 卵会在3到12天内孵化。

The hungry caterpillar eats all the time. It needs a lot of food to grow. First, the caterpillar eats its own eggshell. Then, the caterpillar eats the leaf it is on.

饥肠辘辘的毛毛虫一直在吃东西。 它需要大量食物才能长大。 首先，毛毛虫会吃掉自己的卵壳。 接下来，毛毛虫就吃它停留的这片叶子。

The caterpillar grows quickly, but its skin does not grow. The caterpillar's old skin splits and peels away. The caterpillar will shed the old skin many times in this stage.

毛毛虫长得很快，但它的皮肤不会跟着长大。 毛毛虫的旧皮肤会裂开、脱落。 在这个阶段，毛毛虫会蜕很多次旧皮。

New skin is under the old skin. It is soft at first, but soon hardens. The caterpillar sheds its skin four to six times and eats the old skin each time. The caterpillar grows for two to four weeks.

旧皮肤下面是新皮肤， 刚长出来的时候很软，很快就会变硬。 毛毛虫会蜕4到6次皮，每次都会把蜕下来的旧皮吃掉。 毛毛虫的生长期为2到4周。