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How does a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis?

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Illustration showing a variety of adult insects, each labeled with its common name and order, including walkingstick, earwig, stonefly, tree cricket, dragonfly, female scale, cat flea, thrips, sucking louse, thysanuran, ant, scarab beetle, stinkbug, mosquito, and cabbage butterfly, highlighting their diverse shapes and sizes. — insect An illustration of insect diversity.

During the pupal stage, a butterfly undergoes complete metamorphosis, a process in which larval tissues break down and are rebuilt into adult structures. When the transformation is complete, the adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis—a process known as eclosion.12

The butterfly typically emerges by splitting the pupal skin. Because butterflies generally pupate naked (forming a chrysalis rather than a silk cocoon), they do not need to chew their way out or secrete fluids to soften a protective covering, as some moths do. Once the skin splits, the adult butterfly exits the casing to begin its life as a mature insect.13