How do caterpillars become butterflies?

A caterpillar has no wings and cannot fly. Yet one day it becomes a beautiful butterfly floating through the air. How does such a big change happen? It is one of nature’s best magic tricks, and it is called metamorphosis.

Step one: eat and grow

A caterpillar’s main job is to eat. It munches leaves all day long and grows bigger and bigger, until its skin is too tight. Then it wriggles out of its old skin and keeps on eating.

When it has grown enough, the caterpillar is ready for the next amazing step.

Step two: the secret case

The caterpillar finds a safe spot and wraps itself into a little case called a chrysalis (say it “KRIS-a-liss”). From the outside it looks still and quiet, like it is sleeping.

But inside, something incredible is happening. The caterpillar’s body breaks down into a kind of soup and then rebuilds itself completely into a brand-new shape.

Step three: out comes a butterfly

After a week or two, the case splits open and out climbs a butterfly, with soft crumpled wings. It pumps blood into its wings until they spread out wide and dry — then off it flies to find flowers!

Wonder fact: A butterfly tastes with its feet! When it lands on a flower, it can already tell whether the food is good for its babies.