During her lifetime a female butterfly can lay from 100 to several thousand eggs. She is very careful to lay these eggs near the kind of plant that will be useful to her offspring later.
These eggs will hatch into tiny, wormlike grubs called 'caterpillar lavae' which begin to feed and grow immediately. They will shed their skins several times.
When the caterpillar feels it is time for a change. It spins a little button of silk to which it clings. It lands head down and shed its caterpillar skin. It then appears as a pupa or chrysalis.
The pupa or chrysalis may sleep for some weeks or months. During this time it is undergoing a change, so that when it emerges from its chrysalis skin, it is a butterfly.
It will spread its wings so they can dry and become firm before it will attempt to fly.
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