The life cycle of a butterfly

The eggs hatch into tiny grubs which we call caterpillars. The caterpillars feed hungrily on the plant until they can get no bigger. Then they shed their skins and emerge as a chrysalis or pupa. They may remain in this form throughout the winter.

The body of the chrysalis will break down during this amazing transformation and reform itself into a beautiful butterfly.

The butterfly has to break its way out of the hardened shell of the chrysalis. When it first does so its wings are soft and crumpled. It has to spend a while pumping blood into its wings to make them strong and wait for them to harden.

The butterfly will then fly away to feed and find a mate to start the whole process again!

This process of changing bodies is called metamorphosis.

Peacock butterfly photograph by Leon Truscott

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