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The lifecycle of a butterfly
Like other insects, butterflies have 4 lifestages,
the egg (ovum), caterpillar (larva), pupae (chrysalis) and adult (imago).
:::: Ovum (Egg) ::::
The ovum is laid in a secure place and left to hatch.
A White Butterfly egg is pictured.
:::: Larva (Caterpillar) ::::
The larva is very small upon hatching and most will eat the egg shell as their first meal. The
larva is an eating machine and spends most of it's time eating and growing. As a caterpillar
grows it needs to shed its skin when it gets too tight, most species do this 4 or 5 times until
the final moult, which is when the larva changes into a pupae. Each stage between moults is called
an instar.
A Yellow Admiral caterpillar is pictured.
:::: Pupa (Chrysalis) ::::
The pupa is the metamorphosis time when the larva changes into the imago or adult butterfly.
A Red Admiral pupa is pictured.
:::: Imago (Adult) ::::
The imago spends most of it's time on reproduction and foraging for safe places to lay eggs,
occasionally taking time out for a nectar feed at a flower. So the cycle begins again.
A female Rauparaha's Copper adult is pictured about to lay an egg.
Hibernation. In New Zealand all species hibernate for the winter. The lifestage varies on species, but for those that hibernate as imagos, they will wake for a winter feed on the warmer days, known as a quiescence. So grow some winter flowers and expect to see Monarchs, Red and Yellow Admirals on winter flowers. The Yellow Admiral is also known to overwinter as a larvae and slowly munch away on warmer days.
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