1.  Eggs are first stage  They are tiny, sometimes microscopic  Laid on the underside of host plant leaves  Hatching predetermined by time eggs are laid

2.  Minute, some virtually invisible to naked eye  Coloration of caterpillar is quite diverse  Job of caterpillar is to eat, eat, eat  Caterpillars must shed skin several times, each shedding called an instar  Can multiply in size more than a thousand fold  When final instar occurs, pupa emerges

3.  Transformation in pupa stage is miraculous  What emerges in no way resembles the caterpillar  Complete disassembly of the cells and reassembling of cells into new form  The butterfly emerges from this stage

4.  Upon emerging, the swollen body pumps fluid into tiny shrived up wings  Within a few hours, wings are full sized, dried, and become more rigid  Butterflies are ready to take flight  The job of the adult is to mate and lay eggs  Most live only one or two weeks All photographs courtesy of The Academy of Natural Sciences http://www.ansp.org/museum/butterflies/life_cyc le.php