The female butterfly lays the egg on the surface of a leaf or a stem. The egg is tiny, oval or cylindrical and varies in colour. The popular larvae form of a butterfly known as the caterpillar gradually grows inside the egg. These eggs hatch according to the favourable conditions outside, if it’s warm the eggs faster otherwise it takes a few weeks.

The larvae or in this case a caterpillar that hatches goes on an eating rampage. In this stage, they eat, moult and repeat that process constantly. After hatching the caterpillar is extremely hungry and eats constantly. The caterpillar eats its way out of the egg and then continues to eat plants in the outside world.

The caterpillar forms a vessel around it, called the ‘pupa’. Inside the pupa, the caterpillar gradually grows and develops. During this stage, the pupa creates skins around the vessel that makes the exterior hard. The chrysalis protects the pupa till it transforms into a butterfly and breaks out of the vessel.

The most prominent stage known to human beings is the adult stage when the Chrysalis breaks out of the vessel with colourful scaly wings. At first, these scaly wings are folded against the body of the butterfly because of its brittle nature. Once it pumps blood into the wing the butterfly flies in search of food and other butterflies to mate with. After the mating is completed, the female butterfly lays eggs on a leaf or flat surface and the whole cycle begins all over again.

The butterfly and moth develop through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape.

Insects have two common types of metamorphosis. Grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, and cockroaches have incomplete metamorphosis. The young (called a nymph) usually look like small adults but without the wings.

Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food.

There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.