An autobiography of a butterfly
I am a beautiful Monarch butterfly. My name is Jolly. My mother laid some eggs on the leaf of a milkweed plant. After several days we hatched into tiny black and white larvae. At this stage, we were called tiny caterpillars. We moved about the plant and fed on its fleshy green leaves. Since we ate all the time, most of the leaves on the plant were destroyed.
We grew so fast and soon, that we were too big for our skin. Then we had to go through a process called molting. When we grew new skins and then crawled out of the old ones. We then turned into large grey, yellow and orange-striped caterpillars.
My next stage was the pupa stage. I crawled under a leaf of the plant and spun a pod of silk and fastened myself to the pod. I molted once more, but this time instead of getting a new skin. I got a green bag. When the right time came for me to emerge out, the bag changed its color and burst open. I flew out of it into the world.
I was a fully grown Monarch butterfly. My wings were beautifully colored. Wherever I flew people stopped to admire me. I felt very proud of myself. I fluttered from to flower feeding on the nectar. I made my home in a beautiful garden. The old garden keeper loves to admire me. His eyes would brighten up at the sight of me.
One day I laid some eggs on a hibiscus plant in the garden. My life span is short. Soon I will disappear from the face of the world. But more Monarch butterflies will hatch from my eggs.