Many believe that butterflies have a very short life span. In fact, adult butterflies can live for a week or nearly a year depending on the species. Most species go through a rather long larval rate, and some can become dormant when in pupa or egg levels in order to wade through the winter.
Butterflies can lay eggs once or many times each year. The number of descendants a year differs in climatic influences, whereby butterflies living in the tropics are able to spawn more once a year.