Common Blues pairing and laying on Bird's Foot Trefoil leaves.
These two Common Blues mate briefly then the female lays a tiny white egg at the base of a leaf of its foodplant.
Tiny egg
Though very tiny, an egg contains enough food for the tiny caterpillar to form inside a weatherproof shell. Some eggs are eaten by chance when animals eat the plants the eggs were laid on. Otherwise, this is a relatively safe period in the insect’s life. Eggs survive frost, rain and summer heat. Some butterflies survive the winter as eggs – examples are the Essex Skipper, the Silver-spotted Skipper, the Brown, Black, White-letter and Purple Hairstreaks, the Silver-studded Blue, and the High Brown Fritillary.
Photomicrograph of an ovumThe egg of a Large White butterfly is hugely magnified in this photo. |  |
The eggs of the Silver-studded Blue (left) and the High Brown Fritillary (right) survive the winter and the caterpillars hatch in the spring.
 |  |
The Grayling is a heathland and coastal butterfly which lays its delicate eggs singly on grass stems.
 |  |
Eggs come in many different shapes and sizes. This giant Brimstone egg is mounted in such a way as to seem to float in the pond.
The adult butterflies and moths must first find the correct plant to lay on so the tiny caterpillars can start feeding as soon as they hatch – usually their first meal is their empty eggshell. How they find the right foodplant is one of the wonders of nature – especially when the plants are very few and far between.
Link here to further information on:
Gallery of Butterfly Eggs
Click on the first image to enlarge it and scroll through the photos by hovering the mouse over each image and clicking on the 'next' button that will appear on the right hand side of it.
