Different life stages of a butterfly.

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The Egg stage



The eggs of butterfly are tiny and have a variety of shapes. The female butterfly lays the eggs on the leaves of the plants. After 6-7 days a worm like creature hatches out of the egg which is light green or yellow in colour.

The Larva stage



It is tiny worm like known as baby caterpillar but does not undergo moulting (it's the process of shedding of skin several times before growing into an adult).


The Caterpillar stage



This is the active stage. The larva eats leaves and grows to a tremendous amount. This fully grown larva is called a caterpillar which has six real legs and a number of extra prolegs.It is the young one of a butterfly and does not resemble its parents.

The Pupa stage



This is called the resting stage. The caterpillar first spins a cocoon around its body and also fastens itself to a plant with a silk thread.. The caterpillar which is inside the pupa changes into a butterfly. Generally pupas camouflage themselves to hide from predators.