life cycle of a butterfly
egg
This is the first stage of the butterfly life cycle and the adult female butterflies will lay eggs on plant leaves so once the eggs hatch they will have a food source. It takes around 4 days for the eggs to hatch.
larva
Once the eggs hatch they will turn into larva. The larva will start off eating the shell of the egg they were in and then move to eating plant leaves. The caterpillar will be in the larva stage for about 2 weeks. During this stage the caterpillar's job is to grow very big and to prepare for the papa stage. It is important to have plants for larvae so they can eat and also have a habitat.
pupa
This stage is where the caterpillar will turn into a butterfly. Depending on the type of butterfly, it will be in the chrysalis for 1 to 2 weeks. This is where metamorphosis occurs form the larva stage to the adult stage. The caterpillar is broken down and turned into a butterfly.
adult
The adult butterflies will pollinate flowers and mate with other butterflies. Once the butterflies have mated, the female butterflies will lay their eggs onto plant leaves and the whole cycle will start over again. Pollinating and reproducing are the main 2 purposes of an adult butterfly.
Here is another site that talks about the life cycle for a monarch butterfly specifically.
