It was just a normal day for a 16-year-old who was on his way to class. He looked down on the sidewalk, however, and saw a green caterpillar that had eyespot markings. He thought that he look like a cartoon character, and he was concerned that the caterpillar would get stepped on by somebody passing by.
The student picked up the caterpillar and proceeded to name him Chicken Nugget. Little did he know that it would not be long before his new friend was going to go through a metamorphosis and turn it into a beautiful butterfly.
Fortunately, he took the time to document the transformation of Chicken Nugget. After posting it online, it went viral and after you see these pictures, you will know why.
A 16-year-old student found this little caterpillar while walking to class. He was afraid he would be stepped on, so he picked him up and took him along.
He named the caterpillar Chicken Nugget, because it was the first thing that came into his mind. His markings, known as eyespots, are used to scare away predators but it made him look like a cartoon character.
As the class continued, he noticed that his new friend was fading in color. He was concerned about his well-being.
By the afternoon, Chicken Nugget was completely yellow. He didn’t realize that this was perfectly normal.
Chicken Nugget is a spicebush swallowtail. This species of caterpillar turns yellow right before they prepare to become a butterfly.
He took Chicken Nugget home and built a little room for him out of plastic tubing. He filled it with twigs and leaves.
Chicken Nugget checked out his new surroundings.
Eventually, Chicken Nugget settled on a stick to start producing his chrysalis.
You need to pick out the best spot for this type of change.
The caterpillar was provided with some background music and it actually seemed to help.
Soon, Chicken Nugget had created a chrysalis and he would stay inside of it for 14 days. The chrysalis almost looks like a curled up leaf, so it protects the caterpillar during this time.
After 10 days, a crack appeared in the chrysalis
Finally, the new Chicken Nugget was out! He now needed a new name, so he was renamed Chicken Wing.
They noticed that he had some rather unique wings. One was smaller than the other and they were different colors.
He realized that Chicken Wing was a gynandromorph, because he had both female and male characteristics.
He knew that Chicken Wing belonged in the wild so he was set free in the backyard.
You can see his release in this video below:
The world really is a wonderful place.
Via: Little Things
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