The life cycle of a servlet in Java consists of several stages that occur from the time the servlet is initialized to the time it is destroyed. Here are the stages of a servlet's life cycle:

1. Loading - The servlet container loads the servlet class into memory. This happens when the web application is deployed to the server.

2. Instantiation - The servlet container creates an instance of the servlet class. This happens when the servlet is first requested by a client.

3. Initialization - The servlet container calls the servlet's init() method, passing in a ServletConfig object that contains configuration information for the servlet. The init() method is typically used to perform any initialization tasks that the servlet needs to perform before handling requests.

4. Request Handling - The servlet container calls the appropriate method (e.g. doGet(), doPost(), etc.) in response to each client request. The servlet processes the request and generates a response, which is sent back to the client.

5. Destruction - The servlet container calls the servlet's destroy() method when the web application is stopped or reloaded. This method is typically used to perform any cleanup tasks that the servlet needs to perform before being removed from memory.

It's important to note that the servlet container may create multiple instances of a servlet class to handle multiple client requests. In this case, each instance of the servlet runs independently, and the servlet container manages the request handling and resource sharing between the instances.

Overall, understanding the servlet life cycle is important for developing efficient and effective servlets that can handle client requests reliably and efficiently.