A butterfly passes through four stages of life. At each stage, it looks different.

一只蝴蝶一生分为四个阶段。每个阶段，它都具有不同的外观。

1. Egg  卵

A female butterfly lays an egg on a leaf. The egg is small and round. A special glue sticks it to the leaf. After about five days, the egg hatches.

一只母蝴蝶把卵产在叶子上。卵又小又圆。一种特别的胶水把它粘在树叶上。大约五天后，卵就会孵化。

2. Larva 幼虫

Out of the egg comes a caterpillar, or a larva. The caterpillar eats leaves and grows bigger. It eats a lot! It sheds its skin four or five times as it grows.

一只毛毛虫从卵里面孵出来了，或一只幼虫。毛毛虫吃叶子并逐渐长大。它吃得很多。在成长的过程中，它将会脱皮四至五次。

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3. Pupa 蛹

Weeks pass. The caterpillar turns into a pupa. A hard shell called a cocoon forms. Inside, the pupa grows wings and other parts.

几周过去了，毛毛虫变成了一个虫蛹。一个被称为茧的硬壳子。在里面，虫蛹逐渐长出了翅膀和其他部分。

4. Adult 成虫

The adult butterfly breaks out of the cocoon. It looks for food. It will begin to look for a mate. Soon, the female will lay eggs.

蝴蝶成虫破茧而出。它到处寻找食物。它将开始寻找伴侣。不久，雌性蝴蝶就将产卵。

Science Scoop 科技快讯

There are more than 20,000 kinds of butterflies. They come in many colors and sizes. This butterfly is a blue morpho. It lives in the rain forest.

有超过两万种蝴蝶。他们有着多种颜色和大小。这是一只蓝色的大闪蝶。它居住在雨林里。