Behavior relies on the capacity to extract and process information from the environment. Visual and chemical cues in particular are vital to survival and reproduction, mediating predator avoidance, foraging, communication, and mate choice behaviors in animals. Nevertheless, sensory systems often show ontogenetic shifts in structure and function, especially in animals that exhibit indirect development. To investigate developmental differences in sensory transduction and processing at the molecular level, we examined the expression profiles of genes linked to vision and chemosensation in two life stages of an insect that undergoes a dramatic metamorphosis, the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Specifically, we reared animals under identical conditions and compared gene expression in the heads of late fifth instar larvae and newly-eclosed adults. Over half of all expressed genes showed significantly altered expression between the two developmental phenotypes, with 4,046 and 4,402 genes upregulated in larval and adult heads, respectively. Vision-related genes upregulated in adults were heavily biased toward phototransduction, while those upregulated in larvae were mainly associated with eye development. Additionally, the vast majority of chemosensory genes were differentially expressed between larvae and adults, several of which were homologous to lepidopteran genes associated with pheromone detection, host plant recognition, and foraging. These results reveal promising candidate genes for furthering our understanding of the sensory ecology and behavior of the disparate developmental stages of butterflies and provide insights for other animals that undergo metamorphosis.