Butterflies are lovely colorful creatures, but did you know they are not so beautiful from birth? First, they must go through an amazing transformation called metamorphosis.
There are four stages in the life cycle (metamorphosis) of butterflies. The four stages are egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa, and adult butterfly.
Would you like to learn more about each stage in the life-cycle of a butterfly? Read about the four stages below and download the worksheet to learn more.
Egg
The first stage in the life-cycle of a butterfly is the Egg stage. This usually takes around 3-7 days.
In spring, summer or in fall, the adult female butterfly lays her eggs on a nice bed of plants or leaves. She lays lots of eggs all at once. The eggs are very small and fragile. It can be dangerous for them, but by laying lots of eggs there’s a better chance some of the eggs will survive.
When the egg hatches, the comfy bed of plants provides a tasty meal for the newborn caterpillar.
Caterpillar (also called larva)
The second stage in the life cycle begins when the egg hatches into a larva or caterpillar.
During this stage, the caterpillar must eat and eat as much as it can. It is very hungry so it munches on its bed of leaves. It even eats its own eggshell. The hungry caterpillar needs as much food as it can to grow big and strong. Caterpillars can grow to be 100 times their original size. That takes a lot of energy and food!
As the caterpillar grows, it gets so big it needs to shed its skin to make more room for growth. This process of shedding its skin is called molting. The caterpillar undergoes around 4 to 6 moltings before it is ready for the next stage.
Over the course of several weeks, the caterpillar keeps eating and grows until it is almost 2 inches long. It has tiny eyes and lots of legs - around 8 pairs or 16 legs in total. It cannot go very far because it has to walk everywhere and it doesn’t have any wings yet.
Once it is fully grown, it is ready for the pupa stage in its life cycle.
Pupa
When the caterpillar is fully grown and has finished eating, it is ready for the Pupa stage.
The caterpillar transforms itself into a pupa (or Chrysallis). It hides in a nice safe place, between twigs or under leaves. A hard case forms around the pupa to protect it from the weather and from predators. This stage can take anywhere from a few weeks to months- depending on the species.
It may look like nothing is happening but, inside the hard case, all the caterpillar’s organs, limbs and tissue are very busy. It is changing into something new - a beautiful winged butterfly!
Butterfly
Once the butterfly is ready, it emerges from the pupa. The pupa case cracks open, and a butterfly emerges. It now has wings, but it's not quite ready to fly yet. The wings are wrinkly and wet. They need some time to dry.
The butterfly creates a liquid called hemolymph. This helps the wings become bigger and stronger. When the wings are ready, the butterfly can finally fly using its big colorful new wings.
The adult butterfly can travel much farther than the caterpillar. The butterfly must search for a mate and find flowers to feed on. Most butterflies only live for one to two weeks, but some hibernate over winter and live longer.
Once the butterfly has mated, the female butterfly looks for the perfect spot to lay its eggs.
That’s the life cycle of a butterfly complete!
The planet’s ecosystem is reliant upon butterflies and other insects. That’s why we must protect them and make sure the life cycle continues.
Did you enjoy learning about the butterfly's life cycle? Download the ‘Life cycle of a Butterfly’ activity sheet below.
