When a caterpillar hatches from its egg, it spends the first few weeks of its life eating as much as it physically can. Then, it hangs itself upside down from a leaf or stem and sheds its outer skin to reveal its chrysalis. Inside, the caterpillar's body breaks down, and specialized cells called imaginal discs begin to form the framework of the butterfly that will emerge. Within weeks, it will be ready to mate and start the process all over again.
The process of metamorphosis is so strange, it almost seems like science fiction. So how did such a peculiar life cycle evolve in the first place?
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