Jad Abumrad

But I was there to look at the moment right before they become butterflies, which remains one of the most mysterious black boxes in nature.

What I'm talking about is something called... The chrysalis.

The chrysalis.

Just to back up.

At a certain point in all caterpillars' lives, after they've eaten a lot of leaves, they hit a certain weight.

Some hormones start pumping, some genetics turn on, and it starts growing a little shell.

That's the chrysalis.

And this is a mystery?

What do you think happens inside the Chrysalis?

I think that

Actually, I've never thought about it, to be honest.

I don't know.

I don't understand how it works.

Not many people have.

Are you, like, surprised that you actually don't know?

Yeah, I'm surprised.

I thought, like, I knew, and I don't.

Those are folks I met at the museum.

Hey, hold up.

Now that I've thought about it for a second, isn't it simply that the caterpillar is inside the shell, it sort of snuggles up, and then it grows a wing off of its right side and then off of its left side, and it just pops wings out?