 Butterfly eggs come in many shapes and colors. The shapes include spherical, oval, and pod-shaped; the colors include white, green, and yellow.
The eggs have a thin, tough, protective shell, the chorion. This shell has raised ribs or pits (reticulations).
At the top of each egg is a micropyle, a small pit that marks where the sperm enters the egg. While the egg is developing, air and water also enter the egg through the micropyle. In addition, aeropyles (microscopic holes that dot the surface of the egg) let oxygen into the egg.
There is a yolk inside each egg that nourishes the developing larva. When it is time to hatch, the larve gnaws open the egg shell with its jaws. After hatching, most caterpillars finish eating their egg case as their first meal. After this, the plant upon which the egg was laid is usually the larva's nourishment |
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