An ode to a Pupa

Excerpt from the A naturalist’s guide to the Butterflies of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

A few butterflies build a rough cocoon, that is, an outer shell of silken thread or other material. generally, they simply attach themselves to a twig or other firm support, sticking themselves onto it. At their real end, and wrapping a neat silken girdle around their support and themselves. Once attached, they shed their final larval skin. A completely different form reveals itself when the larval skin slips away. The pupation stage lasts for between two weeks to several months (in case the species has to pass the winter in this stage). In some moths, it may last for 2-3 years as the moth inside the pupa waits for what it feels is the right time to emerge.

Although this looks as dormant a stage as the egg, the caterpillar has, except for a few vital organs, dissolved into a liquid and its cells, rearrange themselves into an insect that can fly.