Insects, like these beetles, experience a big change during their lives. We call this change metamorphosis.
These beetles hibernate in the ground. They come out when spring begins. Hungry as they are, they start eating. It gives them strength en the opportunity of running into a possible partner. If this occurs, they mate. A feritilized female lays her eggs in rows at the bottom of a leaf. The eggs are covered in an slimy layer, making them stick to the leaf.
After a few days, the larvae are born. Shortly after that, their bodies toughen up en their heads get darker. Then, they get hungry. The larvae start eating the eggs they hatched from. All of them stick together in a group. When the eggshells are finished, the larvae start eating the leafs they sit on.
Eating makes the larvae grow bigger and bigger, but their bodies don’t grow along. The larvae need to moult in order to obtain a new body that is more their size. When the larva has eaten enough, it’s ready to be an adult. It creeps back into the earth, where the larva becomes a pop. After a few weeks, the larva has changed into a young, grown up beetle.
