The Autobiography of a Butterfly

I am playful, I am colorful, I flit around and spread beauty and gaiety and I am perhaps one of the most obvious examples when it comes to explaining the process of “metamorphosis”. There is no need for me now to mention that I am your friend, the “butterfly”.

I live my life in 4 distinct stages: the first one being that of an egg. I am small, round, oval or cylindrical, depending on the type of butterfly which laid the egg. And the most miraculous thing about me is that if you peep closely on the leaves on where I am laid, you can almost watch the small caterpillars crawling inside the egg, giving you an overview of what the future holds for me in the next stage.

The 2nd stage is that of the caterpillar, though technical I am still a larvae. The egg hatches and releases the larvae and the larvae eats a lot in order to nourish and strengthen his body for the next stage.The caterpillar begins by consuming the leaf on which it is laid and nature has made my mother so smart that she would scout for hundreds of leaves to look for that leaf which I love feeding on. Since I am still very tiny and not very mobile, my mother ensures there is plenty of good, tasty food in my near proximity for me to thrive upon. I grow and expand, as I eat and eat but my skin does not grow simultaneously so I shed my existing skin many a times as I grow. This process, I know, scientists refer to as molting.

The 3rd stages that of a pupa. As soon as I, in the caterpillar stage attain the optimum body weight, I transform myself into a pupa or a chrysalis. At this stage, I am at my most interesting and deceptive avatar since externally it may seem to your untrained eyes that all I do, is sleep but internally, I am 24x7 at work, preparing to take-off for my final stage.This process wherein I am growing wings anda new body inside the shell is known as metamorphosis. It is indeed a miracle of nature that the sleepy, immobile, dormant caterpillar me is now unfurling his wings , changing his organs and growing new tissues and limbs to emerge in my most glamorous and stunning avatar. It is natural makeover to beat any other makeover on this planet and you have to see me to believe it.

At the 4th and the final stage, when all the caterpillar side of me has undergone all the changes, you will belucky enough to watch the adult version of me emerge as a beautiful, vibrant and colourful butterfly. I bet you cannot stop your gasps and sighs as I would gradually unfurl the shrivelled wings which were for so long packed inside the pupa and fly away in full glory.

As an adult butterfly, I am now on the lookout for fresh and tasty leaves wherein I could then lay my eggs and start this magical cycle all over again.

Autobiography

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