Discover nature this week with Missouri's caterpillars. The bright wings of butterflies catch your eyes, and many people notice. But few notice naturally drab caterpillars. Butterflies find mates, reproduce, and die. Caterpillars have much bigger jobs. They hatch from tiny eggs to grow into fat, fleshy larvae. Then they transform into graceful adults. All that takes lots of energy, so caterpillars are basically eating machines. Most caterpillars only eat the leaves of certain plants. Monarch