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Why do caterpillars become butterflies?

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Answer: Complete body transformation

Complete body transformationCorrect! Inside the chrysalis, caterpillar cells break down into a soup-like substance and reorganize into butterfly parts. This complete metamorphosis lets one animal live two very different lives—crawling then flying!

Wings grow from eatingWrong. Diet doesn't cause metamorphosis. The transformation is genetically programmed and triggered by hormones when the caterpillar is ready.

It's a different speciesWrong. Caterpillars and butterflies are the same species at different life stages, like how tadpoles become frogs.

Go deeper: Metamorphosis · Chrysalis
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