How long does a butterfly live?
This depends first upon what you mean by ‘butterfly’. A butterfly is a butterfly whether is is an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult. In the same way an 8 year old person is human, a caterpillar is a butterfly. An adult butterfly, if not killed by a windshield, predator, or disease, will live from a few weeks to about nine months, depending upon the species and time of year. Some butterflies overwinter as adults, such as Monarchs, migrating to Mexico and California and Mourning Cloak butterflies which overwinter as adults. The species which overwinters as adults will live for many months. If the question means from egg through adult, a butterfly can live over a year. Some butterflies overwinter also as eggs, caterpillars, or chrysalises.
