The butterfly’s life cycle

A butterfly passes through 4 stages in its lifetime: egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult. The transformation into an adult is called complete metamorphosis and takes place in the pupa, where the caterpillar’s tissue is broken down and miraculously rebuilt into the beautiful adult insect we meet in nature.

In reality its adult life is only a brief interlude, as it usually lives for just a few weeks. Before that, the butterfly may have spent up to a year or more in all as egg, caterpillar and pupa.