Certain highly organized groups of cells known as imaginal discs survive the digestive process. Before hatching, when a caterpillar is still developing inside its egg, it grows an imaginal disc for each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly or moth—discs for its eyes, for its wings, its legs and so on.
In some species, these imaginal discs remain dormant throughout the caterpillar's life; in other species, the discs begin to take the shape of adult body parts even before the caterpillar forms a chrysalis or cocoon. Some caterpillars walk around with tiny rudimentary wings tucked inside their bodies, though you would never know it by looking at them. Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, those discs use the protein-rich soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell division required to form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, genitals and all the other features of an adult butterfly or moth.
The imaginal disc for a fruit fly's wing, for example, might begin with only 50 cells and increase to more than 50, cells by the end of metamorphosis. Depending on the species, certain caterpillar muscles and sections of the nervous system are largely preserved in the adult butterfly.
One study even suggests that moths remember what they learned in later stages of their lives as caterpillars. Getting a look at this metamorphosis as it happens is difficult; disturbing a caterpillar inside its cocoon or chrysalis risks botching the transformation. But Michael Cook, who maintains a fantastic website about silkworms , has some incredible photos of a Tussah silkmoth Antheraea penyi that failed to spin a cocoon.
You can see the delicate, translucent jade wings, antennae and legs of a pupa that has not yet matured into an adult moth—a glimpse of what usually remains concealed. Ferris Jabr is a contributing writer for Scientific American. Grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, and cockroaches have incomplete metamorphosis.
The young called a nymph usually look like small adults but without the wings. Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young called a larva instead of a nymph is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food. There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs are laid on plants by the adult female butterfly.
These plants will then become the food for the hatching caterpillars. Eggs can be laid from spring, summer or fall. This depends on the species of butterfly. Females lay a lot of eggs at once so that at least some of them survive. The next stage is the larva. This is also called a caterpillar if the insect is a butterfly or a moth.
The job of the caterpillar is to eat and eat and eat. As the caterpillar grows it splits its skin and sheds it about 4 or 5 times.
Food eaten at this time is stored and used later as an adult. Caterpillars can grow times their size during this stage. The eggs spend the winter there, hatching only when spring arrives. Other species, such as monarch butterflies, migrate to warmer areas so adults can survive the winter, returning in the spring to lay eggs that hatch into caterpillars. Adult butterflies and moths who don't migrate typically die in the winter, although some species can survive in mild climates.
By using the site, you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our Policy, and to our Terms of Use. Nest to Rest Some butterflies time their egg laying so the caterpillars will be newly hatched as the weather starts to cool. Sort of a Coccoon The life cycle of some caterpillars, such as the white admiral, starts earlier in the summer, but they don't quite have time to make it to the adult stage before the cold weather hits.
Hanging Out as Pupae Caterpillars who hatch in the summer often have time to mature during the warm season. Other Survival Methods Not all butterflies and moths spend the winter as caterpillars. How to Find Butterfly Cocoons.
0コメント