Dear Opemipo,

We usually think of adult butterflies. Those fluttery insects flit from flower to flower. They sip nectar and move pollen. They’re beneficial insects. They help plants and people.

But baby butterflies are another story.

I talked about it with my friend Dowen Jocson. She’s an insect scientist at Washington State University.

Young butterflies or moths are larvae, or caterpillars. They hatch from an egg deposited near a plant. Then they get busy eating and growing.

Caterpillars have jaws adapted for chewing. Their munchy mouths will change when they transform into adult butterflies. Then, they’ll have a straw-like mouth for slurping up … » More …

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