These are the stages of the heliconius butterfly metomorphosis. It has to go through sevral stages in it's short life to become an adult.

Heliconius Butterfly Metamorphosis

1.  The egg is resting on a vine, waiting to hatch.  It will stay like that
for three to five days.
2.   A tiny larva or caterpillar eats its way out of the tiny 
egg.  The larva only eats.  It feasts on its egg!
3.  When the caterpillar is a little bit older, it will shed its
skin.  It will go through five entirely different stages.  Their
stages are called instars.  In about two weeks the quickly
growing larva will have shed (at different times) four layers of
skin!
4.  When fully grown, the larva finds a quiet spot and spin a 
sticky silk pad.  It then hangs upside down for one or two days.
The rigid skin divides around the head.  The prepupa wriggles
which sends the skin towards its end.
5.  After the prepupa gets itself out of the skin, it finds a
balanced footing on the sticky silk pad.  
6.  The pupa stays quite motionless as its newfangled skin
begins to dry and blacken.  Within the dark skin, the pupa goes 
into a ten day metamorphosis.  Hormone changes start the breaking 
of the larva tissue and rebuild into adult hormones.
7.  When the shell at last breaks open, the world gets another
flying, fancy butterfly.  Females meet males and the cycle restarts at #1!


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