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Egg
The first stage of metamorphosis is the egg. These tiny eggs will be oval, round or cylindrical in shape, depending on the species of the butterfly. Adult butterflies usually lay their eggs on the leaves of plants. Each type of butterfly often will eat only one type of plant; the plant the female chooses to lay its eggs on is named the host plant.
Larva
The second stage of metamorphosis is the larva, more commonly known as the caterpillar. This happens when the egg hatches. The larva stage is short, and the only purpose is for the larva to eat and grow. Because its skin, or exoskeleton, does not grow, the larva must expand its body by shedding its skin several times, which is called molting.
Pupa
When a larva stops eating and has reached its maximum length and weight, it becomes a pupa, also known as a chrysalis. This is when the larva is transformed from a caterpillar into a butterfly. During the pupa stage of metamorphosis, the limbs, tissue and organs of the larva are completely changed and the wings become fully developed. Antennae also are formed and the parts that a larva used to chew its food alter to become the sucking parts of a butterfly. This process lasts approximately 10 to 14 days.
Adult
When a butterfly reaches the adult stage, metamorphosis is complete. The larva must emerge from the pupa, or chrysalis, when all its limbs are fully grown and it has become a butterfly. However, the wings are wet and small when it first emerges from the pupa stage, so the butterfly must pump blood through the veins on its wings in order to fly. It then takes three to four hours for the adult butterfly to learn how to fly and begin searching for a mate to reproduce, at which point the whole process of metamorphosis begins anew.