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Life Cycle of a Moth

Moths and butterflies belong to the insect group Lepidoptera, which comes from the Greek for "scaly wings." Butterflies and moths have six legs and four wings that are covered with tiny powdery scales. According to the Butterflies and Moths of North America website, moths are different from butterflies in that butterflies have slender antennae that end in a swelling or "club," while the antennae of moths may vary greatly from slender to feathery but never have the swelling at the tip. Moths and butterflies pass through their life cycles in a process called metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis
- The word "metamorphosis" comes from the Greek "meta," meaning "change," and "morphe," meaning "form." The process of metamorphosis takes the moth through four stages--egg, larva, pupa and adult. Each step results in a complete transformation in body appearance. The total time needed for the complete metamorphosis from egg to moth varies by species and can be as short as four weeks. The Butterflies and Moths of North America website reports that some species may overwinter in their cocoons and emerge the following spring.
Eggs
- The female moth lays hundreds of eggs after mating. The eggs of each species have their own characteristic size, shape and texture. Some are round, and others are oval. They can be smooth or ribbed in texture. All are very tiny--about the size of the head of a pin. The eggs usually hatch within a week after being laid.
Larvae
- A population of caterpillars can cause devastating damage to plants as they eat and grow.
  
  The larval stage of a moth's life cycle can last several weeks as it goes through a series of changes called instars. Larvae, commonly known as caterpillars, start out in the first instar as tiny creatures. They are voracious eaters and grow rapidly. As explained by the Amateur Entomologists' Society of London, most caterpillars will only eat one type of plant. As they grow, the caterpillars shed their skins. Each time they do this they are said to be at a new instar. Most caterpillars go through five instars before they are ready to spin a cocoon and enter the next stage of their life cycle.
Pupae
- The moth emerges and leaves its cocoon behind.
  
  A caterpillar that has reached its last instar will build or spin a cocoon around itself. Inside the cocoon it cannot eat or drink. It uses resources stored inside its body to metamorphose into its adult form. Its entire body changes shape from a caterpillar with a long body and many legs to a moth with a head, thorax and abdomen, six legs and four wings. According to Cocoon.org, the process can take anywhere from a few days to several months depending on the species.
Adults
- Moth with characteristic feathery antennae
  
  Adult moths have no mouths and cannot eat. They survive on stored resources in order to live long enough to mate, lay eggs and die. Adult males only need to live long enough to mate--a few days at most--while females may survive for more than a week as they lay their eggs.

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