Becoming a beauty

A butterfly, just emerged from its pupa, waits for its damp, curled wings to dry and unfurl before taking its maiden flight -- a rare sight in the chaotic city of Jakarta.

A butterfly begins life as a tiny egg, hatching into a caterpillar. After about a month of feeding and molting, it spins sticky liquid that hardens into a protective shell called a pupa or chrysalis -- a chrysalis typically has a golden shimmer.

Inside the pupa, larval structures break down and develop new tissues, thoracic legs grow longer, mouth parts change to nectar feeders and wings grow. The metamorphosis can last anywhere from a few days to over a year.

After the adult butterfly is formed, its body gives off a fluid that loosens it from the pupal wall, the thorax swells and cracks open the pupa. The butterfly emerges head first and pulls its body free of the pupa, but perches on its cracked shell while its muscles pump air and blood through the body and wings.

When the wings are dry and hardened, generally after an hour or so, the butterfly flies off to find a mate and produce another generation of butterflies -- nature's age-long tale of the beast becoming beauty. -- JP