The Life Cycle Of A Lime Butterfly: Photographing, Documenting, Observing, Learning

WILDLIFE REVERIE

Metamorphosis 101 has never been this fun…

Week-Old Butterfly: This worn-out butterfly landed in a mandarin fruit leaf on a cloudy afternoon waiting its desertion to the world.

Life’s a journey. We travel in length and time. But no matter what the numbers tell us, it is still the experiences that count. Wait… numbers can’t be counted anymore? They are supposed to be reliable, right? Now, they are mere pretty facts!  So what’s the whole point of this?  In this world that we live in, numbers (kilometers, hours, pesos, etc.) are of little importance – they only make us cram, give us stress, create problems and cause a more complicated life. You’re lucky if you can handle them well. Wow! All praise to you, f–e–w, successful men! But again, I don’t think they are making any sense – like – Ninoy and Marcos should have just embraced each other then instead of wasting time and money. Because, it is absurdly ridiculous having them now, their insubstantial apparitions, watching us, after they have made names years ago! And after all, Philippines is still Philippines. Where I am coming from now is… what if we don’t have clocks, moneys, years or any idea of amounts, quantities… what if we only have air to breathe, food to eat and environment to reside… what if we’re butterflies living in a colorful, unprotected, erratic world… THINK my friend, RELAX your numbers and ENJOY life!

The Life Cycle Of A Butterfly

Laying Eggs¹. A butterfly begins its life as an egg. Butterfly eggs differ in size and shape. Hatching Caterpillar². A caterpillar arises within the egg and comes out of the shell. 


Molting Caterpillar³. A caterpillar spends all its time eating, grows through time and molts to reveal new skin. Emerging Chrysalis⁴. The caterpillar twists and turns to detach its old skin, showing off their new skin, chrysalis, where it will stay for some time and transform to an adult butterfly.

     

Becoming Adult⁵. When the change completes, the butterfly splits the chrysalis. Blood is gradually supplied to its immature wings until the butterfly starts to fly. Mating Butterflies⁶. The male and female butterflies join the tips of their abdomens together when they are ready to copulate.

 

10 Things To Know About Butterflies

Butterflies use their antennae for smelling.

Butterflies use their little hairs on their feet for tasting.

Butterflies use their tongue for sucking.

Butterflies have colorful wings for them to find each other.

Butterflies have spots on their wings that look like big eyes to scare predators.

Butterflies harm plants during their caterpillar days.

Butterflies help plants when they carry pollen grains that serve as fertilizers.

Butterflies hibernate (sleep deeply) during the coldest months.

Butterflies fly if and only if their body temperature is higher than 30⁰ Celsius.

Butterflies have sex (stay in the act) for several hours.

They have worn the sexiest colors. They have landed on the most comfortable leaf. They have tasted the sweetest nectar. They have experienced the greatest pleasure. You may want that too (naughty smile).