The Life Cycle(s) of a Monarch Butterfly （ 君主蝴蝶的生命周期）

Monarch butterflies go through four stages during one life cycle, and through four generations in one year. It’s a little confusing but keep reading and you will understand. The four stages of the monarch butterfly life cycle are the egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. The four generations are actually four different butterflies going through these four stages during one year until it is time to start over again with stage one and generation one.

In February and March, the final generation of hibernating monarch butterflies comes out of hibernation to find a mate. They then migrate north and east in order to find a place to lay their eggs. This starts stage one and generation one of the new year for the monarch butterfly.

In March and April the eggs are laid on milkweed plants. They hatch into baby caterpillars, also called the larvae. It takes about four days for the eggs to hatch. Then the baby caterpillar doesn’t do much more than eat the milkweed in order to grow. After about two weeks, the caterpillar will be fully-grown and find a place to attach itself so that it can start the process of metamorphosis. It will attach itself to a stem or a leaf using silk and transform into a chrysalis. Although, from the outside, the 10 days of the chrysalis phase seems to be a time when nothing is happening, it is really a time of rapid change. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called metamorphosis, to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge. The monarch butterfly will emerge from the pupa and fly away, feeding on flowers and just enjoying the short life it has left, which is only about two to six weeks. This first generation monarch butterfly will then die after laying eggs for generation number two.

The second generation of monarch butterflies is born in May and June, and then the third generation will be born in July and August. These monarch butterflies will go through exactly the same four stage life cycle as the first generation did, dying two to six weeks after it becomes a beautiful monarch butterfly.

The fourth generation of monarch butterflies is a little bit different than the first three generations. The fourth generation is born in September and October and goes through exactly the same process as the first, second and third generations except for one part. The fourth generation of monarch butterflies does not die after two to six weeks. Instead, this generation of monarch butterflies migrates to warmer climates like Mexico and California and will live for six to eight months until it is time to start the whole process over again.

It is amazing how the four generations of monarch butterflies works out so that the monarch population can continue to live on throughout the years, but not become overpopulated. Mother Nature sure has some cool ways of doing things, doesn’t she?

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君主蝴蝶的生命周期（S）
帝王蝶经历四个阶段，在一个生命周期，并在一年内四代。这是一个有点混乱，但请继续阅读，你就会明白。君主蝴蝶的生命周期的四个阶段的卵，幼虫（毛毛虫），蛹（茧），和成年的蝴蝶。四代其实是四个不同的蝴蝶，经历这四个阶段，直到它是在一年的时间阶段和生成一个从头再来。
在2月和3月冬眠，冬眠的黑脉金斑蝶的最后一代出来寻找伴侣。然后，他们北部和东部迁移，以便找到一个产卵的地方。这将启动第一阶段和生成一个新的一年里为帝王蝶。
在3月和4月，马利筋叶片上产卵。他们孵化成小毛虫，也称为幼虫。它需要四天左右的鸡蛋进行孵化。宝宝Caterpillar也不做的远不止吃马利筋为了成长。大约两个星期后，毛毛虫会完全成长，找个地方将其自身附加，以便它可以开始蜕变的过程。它将自身附加到茎或叶，用丝绸和变换成蛹。虽然，蛹期10天，从外面看似乎什么也没有发生的时候，它确实是一个迅速变化的时代。老的身体部位的毛毛虫蛹内都经历了显着的转变，被称为变态，成为美丽的地方，使蝴蝶将会出现。君主蝴蝶从蛹出现，又飞走了，喂花，只是在享受短暂的生命已经离开，这是大约只有两到六周。这第一代帝王蝶然后将生成两个产卵后死亡。
黑脉金斑蝶的第二代是出生在5月和6月，然后在7月和8月将诞生第三代。这些黑脉金斑蝶将通过完全相同的四个阶段的生命周期，作为第一代人，死亡两到六个星期后，就变成了美丽的帝王蝶。
黑脉金斑蝶的第四代比前三代有一点点不同。出生在9月和10月，第四代，经过进程如出一辙，除了其中一部分作为第一，第二和第三代。两到六个星期后，黑脉金斑蝶的第四代不会死。相反，这一代的黑脉金斑蝶迁移到温暖的气候，如墨西哥和加利福尼亚州，住六至八个月的时间，直到它是启动整个过程一遍又一遍。
这是多么惊人的四代黑脉金斑蝶的工程，所以君主的人口可以继续在整个生活多年，但不会成为人口过剩。大自然肯定有一些很酷的做事方式，没有她？
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