What can I expect during the butterfly life cycle?Updated 9 months ago

The entire butterfly project takes between 3-5 weeks to complete, but what will you witness during that time and what is Metamorphosis?  

Metamorphosis is when an animal changes form dramatically two or more times during its life cycle.  Butterflies have a complete Metamorphosis, meaning they go through four stages of development, and in each stage they look completely different.

The stages of the butterfly development are:

Stage one: Egg

Your caterpillars will hatch before we ship them, so you will not witness the egg stage! 

Stage two: Caterpillar (Larva),  between 7-14 days

When your baby caterpillars arrive, they may be a bit sluggish from their journey.  But after you give them 48 hours to perk up, they will begin doing what they do best - eating and growing! 

Your caterpillars will shed their skins five times as they grow.  That means you'll see bits of shed exoskeleton around the cup.  The caterpillars will also go through phases of activity and inactivity throughout the process.  If there's webbing in the cup that's a good sign!  It means your caterpillars are happy and healthy. 

Stage Three: Chrysalis (Pupa),  7-14 days on average (will be longer in cooler months) 

This is a very delicate time. Your caterpillars will go through their final moult and form the hard shell of their chrysalis.  You may see a bit of exoskeleton attached to the top. This is normal. 

The chrysalides may wiggle if they feel threatened.  As they prepare to emerge, the chrysalides will become a darker colour, and when they're almost ready you'll be able to see the outline of the butterfly's wing through the surface of the chrysalis. 

Stage Four: Butterfly (Adult), lives 2-4 weeks

We recommend you release your adult butterflies within 3 days of their emergence as at 4-5 days old the butterflies will start to mate and lay hundreds of eggs, so it's important to let them go so they can continue their life cycle out in nature.