Caterpillars Are Small Creatures with Big Transformations

by Dilma Attidekou, age 10

Caterpillars are small insects that shapeshift into bigger insects known as butterflies.

Caterpillars, also known as butterfly larvae, have big heads and strong jaws. They use these parts as tools for cutting up food. Their bodies are split into 13 segments. The rear part of the caterpillar is the abdomen and the front is the thorax.

All caterpillars have five pairs of prolegs (false legs) located near the abdomen. However, they lose all their prolegs when they become adults. Yet, they still have three pairs of actual legs when they reach adulthood. Unlike most other animals, caterpillars can barely see but have six eyes that help them distinguish in both dark and light. Some caterpillars have false eyes on their backs to scare away their predators.

Caterpillars hide in crevasses in bark and on vegetation. These small animals survive by eating leaves, fruit, and stems. In contrast, most adult butterflies survive by drinking nectar.

About every week a growing caterpillar’s skin grows too tight, causing the skin to split along the back and reveal new skin underneath. The new skin is soft and stretchy. Caterpillars breathe differently from other animals because they breathe through their skin. They do not have lungs but instead have tiny holes called spiracles, through which they absorb oxygen into the body tissues.

Caterpillars are small but mighty animals that shapeshift and metamorphose into beautiful butterflies. Their lifestyle as larvae and eventual transformation into butterflies highlights one of many fascinating processes in nature.

[Source: The Big Bug Book]