A very tiny caterpillar hatches from the egg. The first meal for most caterpillars is the eggshell. The caterpillar is designed to be an “eating-machine” and before it begins to pupate it will increase its body mass thousands of times.
The picture on the left is a small young Black Swallowtail larva while the caterpillar in the picture on the right is an older Black Swallowtail larva. Caterpillars will molt several times as they outgrow their exoskeleton. Each time they do their appearance will change, sometimes rather dramatically.
Black Swallowtails, for example, have five instars or five different stages between the hatching from the egg and the time of pupation. The number of instars varies between butterfly species. The caterpillar on the right is in its fifth instar and will soon pupate, or molt, one last time to become a chrysalis. The total time that the butterfly stays in the caterpillar stage is about 2-5 weeks and varies based on the species and the growing conditions.
It is believed that the caterpillar stage is the most dangerous in the life cycle of a butterfly as the mortality rates are very high. Caterpillars are subject to weather conditions, disease, parasites and predators. Many adult butterfly species lay hundreds of eggs with only a few surviving to become adults.
Butterfly is so cute