| CATERPILLARS | Larvae of butterflies or moths (12) |
| RABBLE | A flutter of butterflies; or, a mob (6) |
| APPREHENSION | The catching of butterflies |
| LEPIDOPTERAN | Butterfly or moth |
| RAINBOW | Arc-en-ciel or similar spectrum of colours; or, another word for a cloud or kaleidoscope of butterflies (7) |
| VANESSA | Genus of thistle butterflies, or name coined by Jonathan Swift (7) |
| ORANGETIPS | Creamy-white butterflies, or "ladies of the woods", with signature peach-coloured forewings (6-4) |
| NYMPHS | From "marry", a classical Greek word for brides, beautiful maidens or nature spirits that also means brown butterflies or young dragonflies (6) |
| GRUBS | Larvae of insects; caterpillars or maggots (5) |
| TADPOLES | Aquatic larvae of a frog, toad or other amphibian (8) |
| NETS | Tools for catching butterflies or fish |
| REDADMIRALS | Common British butterflies - or Soviet officers? |
| NET | Mesh device used in catching butterflies or fish |
| MAGGOTS | Legless, soft-bodied, wormlike larvae of any of various flies (7) |
| RIA | Wendy Craig's character in Butterflies; or a drowned river valley (3) |
| ARGUS | Io's guardian, whose 100 eyes were transferred to a peacock's tail and name was given to several pheasants and various eye-spotted butterflies; or, any vigilant watcher/observer (5) |
| INCHWORMS | Larvae of the geometer moth |
| GLOWWORMS | Larvae of fireflies (4-5) |
| MOTHS | The larvae of what can damage stored clothes? (5) |
| CLOUD | A number of butterflies in flight; or, a meteorological mass studied or contemplated in nephology (5) |
