Before and After Photos of Butterfly and Moth Transformations – The animal kingdom is filled with stunning and mysterious processes, but bear in mind there are few which are more fascinating and marvelous than the metamorphoses that caterpillars go through to become moths or butterflies.
There are so many beautifully processes in nature, like the transformations of caterpillars into butterfly’s. All butterflies have “complete metamorphosis.” To grow into an adult they go through 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Each stage has a different goal – for instance, caterpillars need to eat a lot, and adults need to reproduce. Depending on the type of butterfly, the life cycle of a butterfly may take anywhere from one month to a whole year.
Maybe even more amazing than the extreme transformation is how it happens. Inside their cocoons, the caterpillars are completely liquified, retaining only rudimentary “plates” which are the beginning points for important features like the wings and eyes. Regardless of the fact that they are reduced to a protein soup, research has indicated that some butterflies can retain behaviors that they were taught as caterpillars. Far out!
The fun thing is that most of these caterpillars are almost as impressive, if not more so , than their moth or butterfly equivalents. Their vivid marks and structures often serve as protection, advertising their hazardous and poisonous nature or giving predators false targets to attack.
Before and After Photos of Butterfly and Moth Transformations
Brahmin Moth
Image credits: Igor Siwanowicz
Image credits: Igor Siwanowicz
Cecropia
Image credits: Lida
Image credits: Chip Miller
Spicebush Swallowtail
Image credits: luckybon
Image credits: shill718
Black Swallowtail
Image credits: Jim Gilbert
Image credits: Tetsuya Shimizu
Polyura Sempronius
Image credits: teejaybee
Image credits: David Cook
Acraga Coa
Image credits: Our Breathing Planet
Image credits: greenmama.ru
Acharia Stimulea
Image credits: butterfly blue
Image credits: butterfliesandmoths.org
Phobetron Pithecium
Image credits: Airton Morassi
Image credits: Lou Prosperi 3rd
Glass Winged Butterfly
Image credits: Wendy
Image credits: Alexander Adema
Cerura Vinula
Image credits: Lukas Jonaitis
Image credits: Valerio Formichella
Flannel Moth
Image credits: Andreas Kay
Image credits: Patrick Coin
Blue Morpho
Image credits: gerckens.photo
Image credits: Ricardo Jimenes
Isochaetes Beutenmuelleri
Image credits: Igor Siwanowicz
Image credits: Roy Morris
Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth
Image credits: Charles & Clint
Image credits: Margarethe Brummermann
Isa Textula
Image credits: Matthew Myers
Image credits: Ray Morris
Pipevine Swallowtail
Image credits: cotinis
Image credits: John Flannery
Spotted Apatelodes
Image credits: Bill Tanneberger
Image credits: kestrel360
Io Moth
Image credits: Jason Penney
Image credits: Roger Wasley
Attacus Atlas
Image credits: John Horstman
Image credits: Andrew Cooper
