Butterfly life cycle |
There are four stages to a butterfly’s life:
Egg -> Caterpillar ->Pupa ->Butterfly
Briefly, a butterfly starts as an egg, which hatches in 5 to10 days. The tiny caterpillar starts to eat and as it gets bigger, sheds its skin 4 to 6 times. In 2 to 4 weeks, the caterpillar will be full-grown and transforms into a pupa, the stage during which its body structure will change into that of an adult. Ten to fifteen days later, the adult butterfly emerges. Adults mate, the females lay eggs and the cycle begins all over again.
The links below will take you to lists of butterflies and the plants necessary to sustain them. Be sure not to miss the video on each page to gain even more information.
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Thank you for stopping by to spend time in my garden. If you liked the article, please take a moment to let me know. I will be delighted if you would suggest Gardens Inspired to your friends, follow me or subscribe to my Blog.
Leave a legacy, but garden like you’ll live forever!
-Debra
Did you like this post? Please recommend it to other readers by selecting the g+1 box, below.
Have you looked at Beautiful Wildlife Garden? I have a badge with link on my sidebar. Looks as if you would enjoy that one.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! Gardening for butterflies and other wildlife is one of the primary aims of my garden. Definitely so rewarding!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking a few minutes to share your thoughts - so kind of you.
ReplyDeleteDid you happen to watch the Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar video on the R-Z page? I learned a great deal by researching for this article and that was really interesting.
Great information, working on this concept in our gardens as well.
ReplyDeleteVery informative! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeletemy sister would love to read more about this. she has beautiful gardens and keeps adding to them. thank you!
ReplyDeleteI admire your interest in butterflies, and their host plants, have you considered linking to comprehensive lists?
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourites showing the butterfly picture next to the host plant dallasbutterflies.com
Silkmoths.bizland.com is One of the best sites for the hawkmoth family
I'm a big fan of butterfly gardening, and linking to the information seems a better use for my time than attempting to build lists from scratch...
Hi Stone - thank you for your comment. I provided a link to the best comprehensive list of butterflies I have found. It is at the bottom of my post in Butterfly Gardening R-Z (link found at right).
ReplyDeleteI am a proponent of resourcing information whenever possible also - and from more sources than one. Your link above does a nice job of illustrating Texas butterflies, but the list is not all-inclusive. Most lists I have found are not all-inclusive which is the reason for providing as much information as possible.
Perfect info for my school garden project -- thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome, Dianne. I am pleased you find it useful; hopefully you found the links to visit the supporting pages. The video I have linked to (Butterflies and their food plants R-Z) about the Spicebush Caterpillar will amuse and delight the children, I think.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for stopping by. Please visit again soon ~Debra
Very helpful, I'm just beginning to get my butterfly garden plants planted!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list of butterflies and their host plants! It's one of the most thorough I've seen. My family loves butterflies and we attract and raise them indoors during the summer. I am always expanding my garden with new butterfly plants. Once you start it's hard to stop! It is a passion! I tweeted this - thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly - thank you for the tweet! You are right about butterflies being a passion; I love them too. Thank you for stopping by -Debra
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