1. The Butterfly
When the monarch emerges its wings are soft, flexible and wet. Its heart pumps fluid from the abdomen to the wings, inflating them to full size. The wings dry and harden over the next several hours. Release your monarch outside the day after it emerges.

2. The Egg
A female monarch identifies a milkweed by "tasting" it with tiny taste buds on her feet. She curls her abdomen and glues a tiny egg to the underside of the leaf. A female monarch may deposit several hundred eggs, usually one egg per plant. The eggs will hatch in three to four days.

3. The Larvae
After eating its way out of the egg, the larva will become an "eating machine", consuming milkweed leaves for approximately 12 days, increasing its weight almost 3000 times. During this time, the larva will go through five "instars", which means that they molt (shed their skin) 5 times. When it is molting, the larvae may crawl up the side of the cylinder and not eat for a while.

4. The "J" Stage
When the larvae is ready to pupate it will look for a secure place to attach itself. It will weave a silk mat and button with silk produced by its lower jaw. The larva grabs the silk button with its rear set of legs, and forms a "J" before shedding its skin for the last time. It will hang this way for about a day. The lava will form its chrysalis relatively soon after its front tentacles hang very limply and its body straightens out a bit.

5. and 6. The Chrysalis
The pupa stage lasts 9 - 14 days. The chrysalis will darken the day before the butterfly emerges and will actually appear to be black on the day it will emerge. At this point, the wings are visible through the chrysalis. The butterflies usually emerge in the morning.