The Living Things of the Earth unit i 



Fig. 51 Three stages hi the developvient of the monarch or vtUkiveed butterfly are 

 show7i. The changing-over stage {pupa stage) is called the chrysalis. It has a bard coat. 

 Which stage is not illustrated? (American museum of natural history) 



butrerflv or moth. The eggs laid by the 

 parent develop into wormlike creatures 

 called caterpillars. A caterpillar does 

 not look at all like an insect; it certainly 

 lacks the three-part division of the body 

 and seems to have more than the typical 

 number of legs, it has no wings and no 

 feelers. After a period of steady feeding- 

 it either forms a hard protective coat or 

 builds a little house around itself. If 

 the little house is spun, it is called a 

 cocoon (kuh-koon'). Many changes oc- 

 cur within the cocoon and after some 

 time the insect conies our a full-grown 

 butterfly or moth. These insects, there- 



changing-over stage, called the pupa 

 (pew'pa); and the adult. This compli- 

 cated life histor\' is referred to as a 

 co7f7plete metamorphosis (change). 

 Many other insects have these four 

 stages in their life history. All the ants, 

 bees, wasps, flies, mosquitoes and beetles 

 have complete metamorphosis. 



There are other insects, the grasshop- 

 per for example, that lack a pupa stage. 

 In these there arc only three stages: the 

 ^^^■, the nymph which is much like the 

 parents, and the adult. This kind of life 

 history is called hicojjiplete vietavwr- 

 phosis. If N'ou are interested in insects 



fore, go through four stajres: the ^^J^^\ you will want to do some of the things 

 the caterpillar, called the larva; the suggested on pages 68-70. 



