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A butterfly
usually lays 200-500 eggs on plant leaves and
stems. Eggs from different butterflies are
different shapes and sizes. The caterpillars hatch
from the eggs about 5 days later.
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The caterpillar is
also called the larva.
Caterpillars first eat their eggshell, then they
eat lots of leaves. Each time the caterpillar
grows, it needs to shed its old skin or
molt.
They usually molt 5 times. After a few weeks the
caterpillar stops eating and growing and looks for
a place to change.
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The caterpillar
sheds its skin for the last time and becomes a
pupa.
The pupa
stays inside a hard shell called a
chrysalis.
Inside the chrysalis, the pupa is changing from a
caterpillar's body to a butterfly's
body.
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- The adult
butterfly emerges from the chrysalis after
several weeks. The butterfly looks for another
butterfly to mate with. After mating, the female
butterfly lays her eggs. Adult butterflies
usually live for only 2 weeks!
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