A butterfly starts life as a very small egg. If you look  close enough you can see the tiny caterpillar growing inside of it. The mother often attaches it to a leaf so that when it hatches it can  start eating.



As soon as the egg hatches the caterpillar will eat the leaf it was born on. Caterpillars need to eat and eat so they can grow quickly. A caterpillar is born they are extremely small. Also when they start eating they instantly start growing.


As soon as the caterpillar is done growing they change their self  into chrysalis or a pupa.  In the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. This is called Metamorphosis.


When the butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis both of the wings are small soft.  When the butterfly has rested it will pump blood into it’s wings.  Later it will find a partner to lay new eggs. This is when the butterfly cycle will start all over again.