It depends on what type of butterfly you are talking about.
the four stages of a complete metamorphosis in order are egg,larva,pupa,and the adult
Lepidoptera. Moths are also in this order.
Egg--Larvae--Pupa--Adult
The adult butterfly lays her eggs, caterpillars (larvae) hatch and eat until they are ready to become a chrysalis (pupa). The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis. Most species (in warm weather) will be an egg for 3-5 days, a caterpillar from 2-4 weeks, a chrysalis for 1-2 weeks, and an adult butterfly for 2-4 weeks.
3-8 months.
butterfly
Actually there's five: egg *caterpillar *Chrysalis *Adult emerges *Adult/ butterfly
The butterfly is an insect that has 4 separate stages of life. The egg is the beginning of life for the caterpillar. The caterpillar then forms a chrysalis. After the caterpillar changes in the chrysalis to a butterfly, it emerges to restart the circle of life.
Tree weeks.
A butterfly goes through four stages of development: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult butterfly. The egg hatches into a caterpillar that eats and grows, then it forms a chrysalis where it undergoes metamorphosis into an adult butterfly. The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, ready to continue the life cycle by finding a mate and laying eggs.
There is no such thing as a baby butterfly, they are born as adults. here is the way it works. A Butterfly lays eggs, these eggs hatch into caterpillar's, the caterpillars seal themselves into pupa or chrysalis inside of which they grow into an adult butterfly, when the time is right an adult butterfly breaks out of the pupa/chrysalis a lot like a chick coming from an egg and you have an adult butterfly ready to mate with other butterfly's that lay eggs once again. The closest thing to a baby butterfly will be the Caterpillar.
The lifespan of a butterfly varies depending on the species, but generally ranges from a few weeks to a few months. The entire life cycle, from egg to adult death, usually lasts around 1-4 weeks for most species.