Interesting Facts About Eggs

  • eggThe egg stage lasts 4 to 10 days in most butterflies.
  • Female butterflies are able to mate as soon as they emerge from their chrysalis.
  • Eggs are deposited as soon as they’re fertilized.
  • Butterflies can lay between 100 to 4,000 eggs.
  • Eggs are laid on or in the vicinity of the butterfly's host plant.
  • Eggs can be laid inside plant tissues or attached to stems of plants or the underside of a host leaf.
  • Butterfly eggs are fixed to plants with special glue which hardens rapidly.  (The nature of this glue is still unknown).
  • Pores on the egg's surface allow the caterpillar embryo to breathe.
  • The egg may change color just before it’s ready to hatch.
  • Hepialids and some Nymphalids drop their eggs during flight.