American Toby Jug Museum 

Butterfly wall pocket produced by Brannam of Devon, England, circa 1900. Butterflies are insects that have large, often brightly colored wings, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though they may have originated earlier. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle and undergo a complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, expands its wings to dry, and flies off.