Lepidoptera Life Cycles
The life cycle of Lepidoptera (butterflies,skippers,and moths) consists of four distinct stages:egg,larva (caterpillar),pupa (chrysalis or cocoon) and adult.
The butterfly,skipper or moth begins life as a tiny egg.Females lay their eggs on specific plants (called host plants or food plants) that serve as food for the next stage,the caterpillar.
Within several days,a caterpillar (or larva) chews its way out of the egg.Caterpillars spend their life eating - increasing their weight more thasn 3000 times.As it grows,the caterpillar molts,or sheds its exoskeleton,4-5 times.
After several weeks the caterpillar prepares to enter the pupal stage.The butterflies attach themselves to a firm support,shed their exoskeleton and become a chrysalis.Moth and skipper caterpillars cover themselves with silk (forming a protective cocoon),shed their exoskeleton and pupate.The chrysalis stage may last several weeks -- during which time the body of the caterpillar is broken down and slowly reformed into the body of an adult butterfly.The pupae inside the cocoons of moths generally spend the winter in the cocoon before completing their transformation the following spring.
The new adult emerges from the chrysalis or cocoon with soft,wrinkled wings.Fluid and blood from ther bosy are pumped intot he wings.,inflating them to their full size.After the wings inflate and harden (a process that generally takes several hours) the adult butterfly or moth is able to fly and begin its search for food and/or a mate.
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