Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Life Cycle
This is photography of the life cycle of the gulf fritillary butterfly. We photographed the animals in my own backyard. We didn't expect to have the neighbors but we chose to make this article because, hey, it was a wildlife moment right from the nature lovers own home.
The life cycle of the gulf fritillary butterfly starts as an egg. The egg is orange to warn insect egg eaters that the animal is poisonous.
As the caterpillar gets ready to hatch out, the egg darkens and gets a weaker shell for the caterpillar to break out.
The caterpillar is born very small and bright orange with tiny black spikes. The caterpillar will start eating leaves to grow.
About 12 days after hatching, the caterpillar will grow 3,000 times its original weight. The mature caterpillar will now have brown stripes and long black spikes for protection.
When it gets big enough, the caterpillar will change into the form to become a chrysalis to develop a butterfly design.
When it hatches out, the final stage has come, it's now a butterfly. We watch the butterflies in our backyard and start the life cycle over again. What a beautiful butterfly!