Painted Lady Butterflies Develop, Emerge in Time Lapse

Here we see the later life stages of several Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)Butterflies. Once the caterpillars are mature, they suspend themselves upside-down, by attaching a body part called the “cremaster“ to a silken pad on the twig, much like the way Velcro works. In about 1 day, the caterpillar sheds its final skin to complete the pupation process. Inside the pupa, the caterpillar has essentially liquified itself into a soup of cells. During the next 12-14 days, metamorphosis takes place - the cells