Andrew Forestell, age 10, of Fredericton, N. B., Canada, for his question:

How long do butterflies live?

All the beauteous butterflies have four life stages. They start out as tiny eggs that hatch into hungry caterpillars. The caterpillars turn into quiet chrysalises and at last the adult winged butterflies come forth. All the many butterflies go through these four stages. But not quite in the same way. Some eggs hatch in a few days, others stay in the egg stage all winter. Some chrysalises hatch in a few days and some stay put all winter. The same thing happens in the butterfly stage. Some adults live just a few days and other types survive the winter.

Winged butterflies are in the last of their four life stages. Their only duties are to mate and produce eggs for the next generation. Most of the many butterfly types flutter gracefully around for a few days or maybe a couple of weeks. Then they wither and die. However, a few types live until neat summer. Some fly far southward to warmer weather and fly all the way back in the spring. A few others shelter in woody crevices and often come forth on a sunny winter day to air their velvety wings.