The

caterpillar lives a fairly simple existence, slinking along, dodging the

ravenous appetites of birds, all the while devouring as much food as

possible.  At some point he finds a

choice spot and forms a cocoon around himself and begins one of the most

astonishing transformations within nature: he turns into a butterfly.  During this metamorphosis he sheds all his

caterpillar “fur” (his setae), his caterpillar legs, and even his caterpillar

antennae.  His slender body, too, gives

way to the chrysalitic soup, as his own digestive juices consume him.  Not even his head survives intact, but

dissolves until all that he was liquifies into the ingredients necessary to

form his butterfly “self.”  I put “self”

in quotes because it’s not clear whether anything of the caterpillar actually

survives the transformation.  There is

evidence of at least some memory being carried through the change, though how

this occurs remains a mystery.  Nonetheless,

nearly all that is caterpillar is gone. 

What emerges is an entirely new and beautifully winged creature.