I have completed my second “Read About It” book.

Butterfly Lifecycle:

• butterflies lay eggs on plants. Different species of butterflies lay their eggs on different plants depending on what food their caterpillars like to eat.
  • Peacock butterflies lay their eggs on nettles
  • Large Whites lay their eggs on cabbages
• the eggs hatch into caterpillars
• the caterpillars eat the leaves and grow. As they grow they shed their skin a couple of times before becoming big enough to pupate.
• the caterpillar finds a sheltered place, on a fence or wall etc where it makes a silk cocoon called a chrysalis or pupa.
• after about 3 weeks (or sometimes the entire winter) the skin splits and a butterfly emerges.
• the adult butterfly feeds on nectar from flowers before laying eggs and letting the cycle repeats.

Other Things Learnt:

• large white butterflies (also known as cabbage whites) are considered a pest by gardeners as they lay their eggs, between 20 – 100, on cabbages and when the caterpillars hatch they eat all the leaves which can kill the plant.
• there are 3 differences between moths and butterflies:
  • moths fly at night, butterflies fly during the day
  • moths have a fat body, butterflies have a more slender (thin) body
  • when butterflies land they close their wings up over their bodies, when moths land their wings remain open.
• we have more than 50 different butterflies in Britain.