Brilliant Butterflies

           Monarch butterflies are insects. Most insects have four wings. Monarch butterflies' wings are orange, white, and black. If you look through a microscope you can see scales on their wings. Yes, their wings really have scales and these scales protect the wings from rain! Monarch butterflies need nectar. They feel with their antenna, suck the nectar with their long black tongues from flowers. For example, a butterfly lands on a flower. It feels the spot where the nectar is. In winter, these butterflies fly to Mexico where it's warm. They hang from trees to sleep the whole winter. In the spring, they migrate back to the north and lay eggs.

          The life cycle of a monarch butterfly begins with an egg. It grows into a larva, eats milkweed leaves and molts. It finds a strong branch to hang on to. It grows to become a chrysallis. The chrysallis change from green to black. A butterfly forms inside it and then a monarch butterfly pops out to complete the cycle.

________________________

Waxman, Laura Hamilton. Monarch Butterflies. MN: Lerner Publications Company, 2003.