The document describes the life cycle of a butterfly or moth through its main stages: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult. It explains that the female attaches eggs to leaves near the caterpillar's food source. The caterpillar is the feeding and growing stage that molts several times. The chrysalis is the transformation stage where caterpillar tissues break down and adult structures form. The adult stage is the reproductive and mobile phase that may migrate or colonize new areas.