Mid Life Metamorphosis

As to the question of which came first, the Monarch butterfly or the egg, as observed, the butterfly. The lady butterfly laid her eggs on the favored milkweed leaves—then fluttered off—starting an amazing series of four life stages of growth spurts that it takes a butterfly egg to become a butterfly. After emerging from its egg a hatchling caterpillar, measuring 1/16 of an inch, eats it. It then, in its larva stage, goes after the milkweed and seriously eats that for about the next 18 days as it concentrates on doubling its weight and molting five times. Once plump, the caterpiller crawls off to a protected area. There it forms a pod of protective coating, a chrysalis. Within, in its pupa stage, it undergoes a 10-15 day metamorphosis into an adult butterfly. At enclosing, the ready to emerge butterfly splits open its chrysalis, dries off its wings and is off to butterfly adventures.