Some animals must go through some life stages in their life. They have to go through the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in some stages. The process is called metamorphosis. During the process of metamorphosis, there will be some physical changes after birth or hatching.
There are two types of metamorphosis: complete and incomplete. The complete metamorphosis consists of four stages: egg, larvae, pupa and adult. In each stage of the complete metamorphosis, the animal looks totally different than at all other stages.
Now, it is the time to see the animals which go through the process of complete metamorphosis. These 3 insects are going through the process of complete metamorphosis and get ready to get amazed with every stage of their life.
- Butterfly
Butterfly is a perfect example of insect that develops through the process of complete metamorphosis. The process starts with an egg stage. The eggs are laid on plants by the adult female butterfly. These plants will also become the food for hatching the caterpillars.
Eggs can be laid anytime, from spring, summer or fall depending on the species of butterfly. The adult female butterflies can lay a lot of eggs at once so that at least some of them may survive. Also spend time reading the interesting fact about what makes butterflies have variable colors.
The next stage will be caterpillar or larvae stage. This stage is also called the feeding stage as in this stage the caterpillar will keep eating and eating. As the caterpillar grows, it will split it skin and shed it for about 4 to 5 times. The food eaten in this stage is stored and used later as an adult. Caterpillars can grow up to 100 times their size during this stage.
Then, here comes the pupa stage. In this stage, caterpillar stops eating and is fully grown. It becomes a pupa. Pupa is usually suspended under a branch, hidden in leaves or even buried underground. Many moths’ pupas are protected inside a cocoon of silk. This stage lasts for a few weeks, month or even longer depending on the species.
Finally, the last stage is the adult. The adult stage is the stage where you can see the butterfly. The butterfly will be totally different with the larva. It has long antennae, compound eyes, and long legs, large and colorful wings to fly.
There are also some other interesting facts about butterflies just like elaborated in fun facts about butterflies for kids.
- Fleas
Similar to butterfly, fleas also go through the process of complete metamorphosis. The first stage is egg. Fleas will lay between four to eight eggs after a meal. Flea eggs are not sticky and usually fall to the ground after being laid. The eggs hatch into larvae within 12 days.
Then, here comes the larvae stage. Flea larvae are about 3 to 5.2 mm long and semitransparent white. This stage lasts from 4 to 18 days.
Also spend time reading the most common fleas that will affect your dog. There are various types of fleas.
Then, the larvae spin silken cocoons and enter the pupa stage. In this stage, the flea starts to build up all organs in sticky conditions. If the environment is ideal and damp, then the pupa can grow into an adult in seven days. If the environment is not good, then it may take around a year for the pupa to turn into adult.
Lastly, in the adult stage, the adult fleas feed on the blood of the host. They also leave blood flotsam and jetsam showing up as black particles on the exterior of the host. You can notice these black particles on the fur of cats or dogs who have fleas.
Fleas can attack any animals, including guinea pigs, dogs and cats. Here are the ways to get rid fleas on those animals. Read them more on ways to get rid and prevent fleas on your pets.
- Honey Bee
The last insect going through a complete metamorphosis is honey bee. Honey bees life cycle consists of 4 basic stages between the egg and adult bee, no matter who they are: worker, drone or queen.
Do you know that honey bees are beneficial for our garden? Read it more on benefits of using honey bee for gardening.
The first stage is the egg. The eggs are laid by the honey bee queen in a wax and hexagonal cell. The egg is as small as a grain of rice and stands upright in the cell. A honey bee queen may lay between 2,000 to 3,000 eggs per day!
The fertilized eggs then will become females (either the potential queen or workers). The unfertilized eggs will become drones or the male honey bees. They will be laid in ‘drone cells’ which are larger than cells of those worker bees. The potential future queen honey bee is laid in a special cell called ‘a queen cell’.
Next, within 3 days, the egg develops into a larva, which looks like a small white grub. It is blind and has no legs. These larvae are fed royal jelly for 3 days and after that they will be fed bee bread (mixture of honey and pollen). All of these are done by the young worker bees.
Then, the larva begins to spin a cocoon around itself. During this phase, it also develops into a recognizable bee, complete with wings, legs, head, thorax and abdomen.
Lastly, a young adult bee will come out from the hexagonal shaped egg cell. It chews its way through the wax capping.