The Pupa - where the larva is converted into the perfect adult
Watch how the caterpillar skin is shed and slides up towards the tail where a ring of hooks holds the insect onto the leaf, before the head and old skin drop to the ground.
The Chrysalis (or Pupa)
The Pupa is the stage in the development of butterflies and moths when the organs of the larva are dismantled and rearranged into the organs of the adult. The insect is very vulnerable at this stage so the pupae are usually hidden, or highly camouflaged.
Have a go at the Butterfly and Moth Pupa Quiz!
One of these caterpillars will never turn into a pupa!
The photo shows two larvae of the Knapweed Fritillary butterfly in northern Hungary, one of them has produced a cluster of silken cocoons which will hatch into tiny wasps. A parasitic wasp has laid its eggs inside the caterpillar and the wasp larvae have eaten out the insides of the caterpillar and prevented it from pupating! The caterpillar on the left looks fairly healthy - at the moment!