the four stages of complete metamorphosis are egg, larva, pupa,and adult. An example of this would be a butterfly. First, it is developed in an egg. A butterfly larva hatches from the egg. A larva is an early life stage of an animal before it changes into an adult. For a butterfly, it is a larva when it is a caterpillar. The next stage is a pupa. A pupa is the stage of life of an animal when it changes into an adult. During this stage the butterfly forms a chrysalis, sometimes called a cocoon.