The diagram illustrates the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, which consists of four distinct stages. Overall, this is a continuous and cyclical process that begins and ends at the milkweed plant. The entire cycle involves both plant dependent and independent phases, ranging from a few days to several week.
The cycle begins when am adult butterfly lays eggs on a milkweed plant, a process that takes approximately 4 to seven days. After the eggs hatch, a caterpillar appears, which is roughly 2 sm length. During this stage, the caterpillar consumes the leaves of milkweed plant in order to grow, which takes about 2 to 3 weeks.
Following this, a caterpillar attaches itself to a branch and forms a protective casing chrysalis. This stage ends between 8 and 15 days. When it complete, a caterpillar transforms into a butterflyfly, with wing-span of about 7 to 10 centimeters. The adult butterfly feeds nectar in flowering plants. The adult butterfly has a lifespan about 2 to four weeks, and it returns to milkweed plant to lay the eggs, and the cycle begins again.