Preparing for the Metamorphosis

Monday, August 12, 1996
Late in the afternoon today, the caterpillar selected a spot under a leaf
and began making a little bump out of silk. We read in one of our books that
the caterpillar produces this silk just behind his mouth. Usually he uses it
as a kind of "safety line" when he's travelling from leaf to leaf. If he should
fall, he could use the silk line to crawl back on the plant.



By dinnertime, the silk bump appeared to be finished and the caterpillar was
resting. After about twenty minutes he turned around and began pushing his
rear end into the silk bump.



We learned that hidden just behind his back legs is a hook that he attaches
to the silk bump so that he can hang from the leaf and begin the first part
of the metamorphosis. It took quite a lot of pushing and wiggling before the
caterpillar seemed satisfied that it was securely attached to the silk bump.
Then about an hour later it slowly let go of the leaf, one pair of legs at a
time, until it was hanging from the leaf in the shape of a letter "J."