Butterfly Life Cycle

Egg – Larva (Caterpillar) – Pupa (Chrysalis) – Adult

The Egg Stage:
A female butterfly will lay eggs onto her host plant. Some butterflies will lay single eggs on various parts of the host plant, while other butterflies will lay their eggs in clusters. The egg will stay on the host plant for a couple weeks, until the caterpillar is then ready to emerge.

The Larva Stage:
Most larva (otherwise known as caterpillar or cat) will eat plant material throughout their cycle. They are eating machines and really have no other job to perform. The caterpillar will mature, going from a tiny little speck to a few inches long in a couple of weeks.

During growth, the larva will go through four to five instars. The skin does not grow and therefore it will be shed at the end of each instar. If you see your cat hanging out on the side wall of your container, doing nothing for a day, it is probably moulting (shedding) a layer of skin. Your cat will have a new look and this new layer will harden quickly. On the last instar, before it is time to pupate, the butterfly wing patterns will be noticeable.

Caterpillars have only three true pairs of legs on their front section, and then a series of prolegs. The prolegs are used for gripping.

The Pupa Stage:
Eventually your cat will stop eating. It will be fully grown and a hormone is produced to let it know, it’s time to pupate. The caterpillar will go on a little venture to find just the right place to pupate. They choose the bottom of leaves, and branches, but I’ve also seen them on the side of my house as well.

The foundation of my house is rock and this spring when I was clearing out old plant branches, I found a great many empty Monarch pupa. I had also saved (raised from egg or larva) at least 50 from my own garden. Up to ½ of the pupa on the side of the house and rock was eaten by predators. So, now I have a new place to look for Monarch pupa. I rarely find a pupa on it’s own host plant. Monarch pupa are usually on the fennel, which is planted beside the Milkweed. I have only ever found one other type of pupa and that is the Black Swallowtail. It was on the siding of my house in the spring. I have no idea where these little guys go and trust me, I have tried hunting them down.

Once the cat has found a proper place to pupate, it will attach itself very well and then shed a final layer. This stage is quite interesting to watch if you get a chance to raise butterflies.

The Adult Stage:
On the final day of the pupa stage, you will be able to see color changes and recognize the butterfly that is about to emerge. Don’t take your eyes off of it on that morning because it will crawl out quickly. The wings will be drooping and the butterfly will hang there for a few hours. The wings need to dry out and pump up with blood in anticipation of the first of many flights it will be taking. On average, the adult butterfly will live about two weeks.

Adult butterflies will only be able to drink nectar. The caterpillar’s job was to eat and now the butterfly will drink. The butterfly doesn’t have a mouth and therefore cannot eat. The male will find females to mate with and the female, after mating, will spend her days finding a place to lay her eggs. The ideal spot being on the host plant near to a nectar source. If you are planning a butterfly garden, be sure to keep this in mind.

Check out the BUTTERFLY BLOG to learn more about the life cycles in progress by the Butterfly Farm Girl herself.

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