Life Cycle
The First Stage: The Egg
A butterfly starts life as a very small, round, oval or cylindrical egg. The coolest thing about
butterfly eggs, especially monarch butterfly eggs, is that if you look close enough you can
actually see the tiny caterpillar growing inside of it. Some butterfly eggs may be round, some
oval and some may be ribbed while others may have other features. The egg shape depends on
the type of butterfly that laid the egg.
The Second Stage: The Larva (Caterpillar)
When the egg finally hatches, most of you would expect for a butterfly to emerge, right? Well,
not exactly. In the butterflys life cycle, there are four stages and this is only the second
stage. Butterfly larvae are actually what we call caterpillars. Caterpillars do not stay in this stage
for very long and mostly, in this stage all they do is eat.
The Third Stage: Pupa (Chrysalis)
The pupa stage is one of the coolest stages of a butterflys life. As soon as a caterpillar is done
growing and they have reached their full length/weight, they form themselves into a pupa, also
known as a chrysalis. From the outside of the pupa, it looks as if the caterpillar may just be
resting, but the inside is where all of the action is. Inside of the pupa, the caterpillar is rapidly
changing.
The Fourth Stage: Adult Butterfly
Finally, when the caterpillar has done all of its forming and changing inside the pupa, if you are
lucky, you will get to see an adult butterfly emerge. When the butterfly first emerges from the
chrysalis, both of the wings are going to be soft and folded against its body. This is because the
butterfly had to fit all its new parts inside of the pupa.
Life Cycle of Frog
Egg
Frogs and Toads tend to lay many many eggs because there are many hazards between
fertalization and full grown frogness! Those eggs that die tend to turn white or opaque. The
lucky ones that actually manage to hatch still start out on a journey of many perils.
Tadpole
Shortly after hatching, the tadpole still feeds on the remaining yolk, which is actually in its gut!
The tadpole at this point consists of poorly developed gills, a mouth, and a tail. It's really fragile
at this point. They usually will stick themselves to floating weeds or grasses in the water using
little sticky organs between its' mouth and belly area. Then, 7 to 10 days after the tadpole has
hatched, it will begin to swim around and feed on algae.
Tadpole with legs
After about 6 to 9 weeks, little tiny legs start to sprout. The head becomes more distinct and the
body elongates. By now the diet may grow to include larger items like dead insects and even
plants.
Young Frog, or Froglet
By 12 weeks, the tadpole has only a teeny tail stub and looks like a miniature version of the adult
frog. Soon, it will leave the water, only to return again to laymore eggs and start the process all
over again!
Frog
By between 12 to 16 weeks, depending on water and food supply, the frog has completed the full
growth cycle. Some frogs that live in higher altitudes or in colder places might take a whole
winter to go through the tadpole stage...others may have unique development stages that vary
from your "traditional" tadpole-in-the-water type life cycle:
Life Cycle of a fish
Egg: In this stage, the embryo is formed inside the hardened egg, once the egg is
fertilized. Then it will start to develop organs. After this, eyespots and tail are completely
developed. Species living in warmer water hatch faster as compared to the species living
in colder water.
Larvae: Once the eggs are hatched, they are known as larva. New larvas have a yolk
sac. This yolk sac is the nutrition source for them. The larva can survive for 2-4 days by
their yolk sac food supply. They can be offered a live feed once their eyes and mouth are
developed.
Fry: The young fish are called fry once the yolk sac is fully absorbed. In this stage,
they are ready to start eating on their own. Fishes go through several development phases.
During first few months, they are known as fry.
Juvenile: Metamorphosis is the process that marks an end point on the larval stage. In
this phase, fishes acquire characteristics of an adult fish like: fins, colour, body parts
etc. and they are considered as juveniles. This stage is considered as a point of high
mortality for a fish. They should thrive on dry feed.
Smolt: In this stage, fishes grow more rapidly. Generally, smolt stays in backrush
water.
Adult: In this stage, fish are able to reproduce. Now they complete the migration from
freshwater to saltwater.
Spawning: Females release the eggs in water and males release milt that helps to
fertilize the eggs.
Life Cycle of a Flowering Plant
Seed
Seeds come in various shapes and can range in size from nearly invisible (in the case of tropical
orchids) to quite large (like avocados or coconut palms). Every seed contains an embryo, or a
miniature version of the plant, ready to sprout and grow when conditions are right. In addition to
the embryo, seeds also contain food for the plant to begin its journey, the beginnings of a root
structure, and a protective outer shell called the seed coat.
Germination
Germination begins when, under the right conditions, the seed absorbs water and swells,
breaking the seed coat. It then grows a tiny root called a radicle which anchors the plant and
absorbs water. With this in place, it sends a shoot (plumule) that eventually sprouts above
ground. When this happens, it is called a seedling.
Growth
The first leaves of the seedling are called cotyledons. These are actually not proper leaves, but
nutrient stores that were present in the seed with the embryo. These nourish the plant as it
develops the capacity to harvest nutrients from its environment. Some plants,
called monocotyledon, have only one cotyledon while others, called dicotyledons, have two.
Pollination
Pollination occurs when the pollen from the male anther is transported to the female stigma.
Some plants can self-pollinate. Others require insects, wind, rain, birds, and other natural
processes to transport the pollen.
