A butterfly begins life as a FERTILIZED EGG. A female
butterfly lays a lot of eggs usually on leaves or
stems of plants. Butterfly eggs are very tiny and
may be in different shapes like spherical, oval or
cylindrical. Butterfly eggs are surrounded by a layer
called a “CHORION” which is surrounded by a thin
layer of wax which prevents it from getting dry.
A caterpillar’s main activity
is EATING. They almost
never stop eating so they
can grow quickly. The first
meal for most caterpillars
is the eggshell and then
they eat the leaf they
were born onto. The
mother butterfly needs to
lay her eggs on the specific
type of leaf the caterpillar
can eat.
THE PUPA or CHRYSALIS is
the THIRD stage of Butterfly
life cycle. The chrysalis (or
pupa) hangs down from the
twigs or safe area around
the plant where it took birth.
The adult Butterfly is the FOURTH
and final stage of life cycle of a
butterfly. When a butterfly emerges
from a chrysalis its wings are wet
and wrinkled. The butterfly hangs
with its wings down and starts
pumping a liquid called HEMOLYMPH to
their wings so that they become big
and strong. After a few hours the
butterfly became ready to take its
first flight.