Life Cycle of Butterflies
Butterflies are the final manifestation of a four-stage sequence that starts with an egg. The egg (ovum) becomes a caterpillar (larva), which then turns into a chrysalis (pupa) and finally becomes a butterfly (imago).
The life span of an adult butterfly depends on the species and to some extent, on weather conditions; a small species such as a common blue may live for only a few days, whereas the larger peacock may emerge from its pupa in early August and after feeding up, hibernating, mating and laying eggs, it may still be on the wing in early June the following year.
Most British butterflies overwinter as either eggs (eg. the white letter hairstreak, silver washed fritillary), some as caterpillars (eg. Small copper, meadow brown), some as pupae (orange tip, holly blue) and some as adults (brimstone, small tortoiseshell). Some species, like the painted lady, cannot withstand our winters and migrate northwards from their breeding areas each spring. The speckled wood can overwinter as either a caterpillar or a chrysalis.
Some species are more mobile than others. Clouded yellow and painted lady can reach the UK from continental Europe, whilst others are mobile but not migrants, such as holly blue, brimstone and orange tip that wander through the countryside. However, most of our species are very localised and live in sedentary colonies, such as the silver-studded, Adonis blue and pearl-bordered fritillary.
