Butterfly
Butterfly Lays Eggs
A butterfly starts its life as an egg, laid by a female adult butterfly after mating. Butterfly eggs vary in size and shape, but most are surrounded by a protective hard shell.
Caterpillar Hatches
A caterpillar develops within the egg and then eats its way out of the shell.
Caterpillar Molts
A caterpillar spends all its time eating. As it grows, the caterpillar becomes too large for its skin and molts (sheds its skin) to reveal new skin. Depending upon the type of butterfly, caterpillars molt four or five times.
Emerging Chrysalis
When the caterpillar reaches its final size it stops feeding. The caterpillar wriggles and twists to gradually remove its old skin, revealing a new protective skin called the chrysalis.
Chrysalis
Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar changes from a wormlike creature into an adult butterfly.
Adult Butterfly
When the butterfly reaches adulthood, it leaves the chrysalis. It pumps blood into its crumpled wings and expands them to their full size before flying away.
