The life cycle of a butterfly begins with an egg being laid by an adult butterfly. From the egg hatches a caterpillar, which is the larval stage of the butterfly. The caterpillar then goes through a process called metamorphosis and forms a pupa or chrysalis. Inside the pupa, the caterpillar undergoes a complete transformation and eventually emerges as a fully developed butterfly. Therefore, the correct order of the life cycle of a butterfly is egg, caterpillar, pupa, butterfly.