Safari Ltd. Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly

From nearly invisible eggs, tiny striped caterpillars emerge. They begin feeding on the surrounding milkweed leaves immediately, storing food for the transition to come. After two weeks, they form a chrysalis, from which a monarch butterfly emerges after another two weeks.

The newly emerged caterpillars are black, white, and yellow, a stark contrast with the emerald chrysalis that follows. The finest colors, however, are reserved for the adult monarch butterfly, which is 3 ½ inches from wingtip to wingtip.