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May 13, 2005

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the rest of the world calls butterfly." --Richard Bach

Caterpillar to Butterfly

A growing caterpillar's cells, which later become the butterfly's cells, are distributed at different locations within the body of the caterpillar. Small clusters of tiny cells, called imaginal buds, embody the blueprint of the butterfly. The caterpillar's immune system recognizes these as foreign and tries to destroy them. As the buds arrive faster and begin to link up, the caterpillar's immune system breaks down and its body begins to disintegrate. It is important to note that the butterfly is not an alien organism developing within the caterpillar as the caterpillar/butterfly is a single organism, with the same genetic code. In other words, metamorphosis is a process in which the subject must die to be reborn.