What are butterfly cocoons made of? — Anabelle, 8, Massachusetts
melissamayerDear Anabelle,
When I was a kit, I looked a lot like the adult cat I would become—even though I was smaller and fluffier. But wiggly caterpillars don’t look like butterflies at all.
I talked about this with my friend Allan Felsot. He’s an insect scientist at Washington State University.
He told me cocoons are mostly silk. But they’re usually made by moths. A butterfly “cocoon” isn’t really a cocoon at all. It’s called a chrysalis.
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