The life cycle of a Butterfly

1. Egg:
   
   Butterfly eggs usually laid on plants. They glue to a leaf and have a hard layer of shell to prevent water drying out of the eggs. The egg stage usually lasts several weeks before caterpillars come out from the eggs.

2. Caterpillars:
   
   Caterpillars are also called butterfly larvae. They eat plant leaves and seem to eat food all their life time. Caterpillars have different shapes and will go through a series of stages called instars.

3. Pupa:
   
   Caterpillars transform into pupas. At this stage, unlike a caterpillar, a pupa stops eating and goes through transformation into a butterfly. This process is called metamorphosis. During the metamorphosis process, the pupa body goes thourgh abrupt changes. Butterfly wings start to grow out for fly.
   
   
   

4. Butterfly:
   
   After the pupal stage, the adult butterfly has 4 wings and six legs. It may take up to three hours for the butterfly's wings to dry and then the butterfly can fly.
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
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   Some images are in the public domain in the United States and come from the Project Gutenberg archives under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
   
   

   

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