Added: 2 years ago
From: jcmegabyte
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  • so the cocoon was opened and this is what is happening inside? it didn't disturb anything? i think the whole process is amazing...thank you!

  • how did i get here!?

  • creeeeeeeepy

  • Awesome!

  • Watch this at the same time tch?v=fVBMHnF-gPk

  • Kakuna!!!

    use your HYPERBEAM!!!! oh wait...

  • Quick Bear Grylls! Before he flies away!

  • is he/she rolling around in a corn chip?

  • @WutTheFukisThis I thought it looked somewhat like a taco shell XD It's actually a very tough silken cocoon that the caterpillar spins itself, which I partically cut open to expose the show inside. (No worries though, this didn't hurt pupa at all) :-) Thanks for watching!

  • @JcmdiStockFootage Haha good stuff, I used to do the same thing when i was younger. I like how it spins around in there. By any chance did it produce any silk?

  • @WutTheFukisThis They definitely do produce silk - that yellow taco shell is actually one long silk strand, spun into a VERY hard and dense cocoon shell. You can see the whole process in one of my other vids: v=R6VHbbQOUmA  and a few others on my main channel as well (Saturnia albofasciata playlist).

  • it must be really painful.... it is ?

  • @vanyisthebestbitch That's a good question... It would be interesting to get the bug's point of view, or maybe be able to ask it like Dr. Dolittle... until someone figures out a way, we can only wonder :-) Thanks for stopping by!

  • holy shit on a stick batman!

    too right robin

  • eat it

  • so adorable!! wobble wobble wobble

  • @JunLiga Yes indeed - that's quite a dance they do! XD Thanks a bunch for stopping by! =)

  • my first though "eeeew" my second though "awesome"

  • @itisme61 Funny how nature can be both gross and amazing at the same time XD Thanks for stopping by ! =)

  • man dat was ugly !!!

  • DAT EBOOL THING KILLED POOR CATERPILLAR ·O·

  • EWWWWW IT SHEAD ITS HEAD

  • Had to b the creepiest moth ive ever seen

  • im not even asleep and this is giving me nightmares

  • epic music for such a dirty thing

  • What... Is the camera inside the cocoon??

  • @Remolfm  In this case, the cocoon shell has been partially cut away so we can see the pupa inside. In the wild, this would allow predators to easily attack and eat the pupa, but in the lab where I filmed this the pupa was perfectly safe and emerged as a healthy moth a few months later. :-)

  • Very well shot, great lighting and careful cocoon-slicing. Is this one of our native CA silk-moth species?  My wife and I are just finishing our own silkworm-growing experiment (posted part one of the movie on my channel), and now on to part two (reeling the silk from the 250 cocoons, dying and spinning it into something useful, probably a small scarf :-)

  • @schwansongs Thanks for the visit and great comment! Yes, this is one of our wild CA natives, from the family Saturniidae - very closely related to domestic silk moth. As I understand it, many wild silkmoth cocoons CAN be used for their silk, though the quality of the silk nowhere as good as the domestic kind, usually being too coarse. Good luck with your project!  =)

  • Is it visible? Don't the caterpillar hiddens entirely itself in the cocoon?

    Also, I think it should have at least 3 minutes, so that one could watch better the metamorphosis.

    Thank you very much

  • @meusisto Yes, the cocoon is normally sealed-up completely in nature. This one has been cut away to show the pupa inside, which is safe for the moth since there are no predators in the lab/studio to eat them as there would be in the wild. :-)

  • @TechnicianMusic

    Oh i see. Thank you for the answer. Btw, how does one cut it? Can a simple knife cut it without hitting the moth?

    Thanks

  • @meusisto Cutting the cocoon open without harming the caterpillar/pupa inside takes a lot care and practice... I use a small pair of surgical scissors, and slide one blade into the "valve" (head) end of the cocoon along the inside surface, being careful not to even touch the bug. I have to nibble-away small bits of the shell until I get enough removed to see inside. :-) Cheers!

  • Oh god....It's having a seizure!

  • i just developed down syndrome

  • subscribed!

  • Caterpee using string shot to cover itself in a cocoon so he can become a Metapod.

  • Is it in a taco shell

  • Why am I watching this when I'm deathly afraid of squirmy insects? @_@

  • better than porn

  • love this vid

  • @p33hjayy  Thanks so much for stopping by - glad you enjoyed it! :-)

  • @jcmegabyte It would be fun if you make the Metamorphosis of an Pupa of an Mealworm turning into an Beatle

  • @mattieboy12321 If I ever get some I may give it a go... =)

  • @jcmegabyte hes sha pupa hes sha pupa i love pupa and pie

  • haha looks like me sleeping in summer time... turn turn turn, get rid of blanket, turn even more, wiggle wiggle

  • @UnderTheLilyShadow It does a lot like it's trying to get comfortable! XD Thanks a bunch for watching =)

  • Gratz, your disgusting little maggot caterpillar is now a disgusting little maggot dildo.

  • Evolutionary biologists are beginning to work out the mystery of how a complex life cycle like caterpillar- chrysalis - butterfly evolved. If you want to read the details try Richard Dawkins excellent books like " The ancestors tale " or Talkdesign org or Evolutionfairytale website, Also try PZ Meyers website Pharyngula or Potholer54 channel on youtube for more excellent videos

  • @zytigon JESUS RULES!!!!

  • so weird

    O_o

  • so he keep on rotating and rotating until "I feel dizzy''

  • @lastheat32 Yea that would definitely get me dizzy and probably motion sick as well! XD

  • Lol, i got more grossed out by watching this rather than watching a person pop his own cist XD

  • Starcraft. Zerg.

  • what the fuck wheres the god damn moth

  • So basically if the caterpillar never got hurt the cocoon would be unnecessay.?

  • Yep. In the lab where they are protected from predators and the elements, they get by just fine without the cocoon :-)

  • it just looks like predator.... kill it before it kills you

  • Thanks for checking it out!

  • KILL IT BEFORE IT GETS TO THE LIGHT BULB!

  • metapod!!!!!! lmao

  • Yep - pretty much! XD

  • @Mo0nLitee Seriously, I had to google metapod lmao

  • I remember when I was a kid....in my school there were a bunch a tree's and plants...I saw a cacoon but I thought it was a fruit and I bit it open and a freakin' insect flew out....I crapped my self...and didn't touch cacoon like fruit for years....

  • Sometimes there are parasitic wasps inside these cocoons, too... best to be careful when handling wild-collected ones...

  • how did you cut open the cocoon?

  • It was tricky - the cocoon shell is very tought - I had to use a small pair of surgical scissors, and cut VERY carefully to avoid injuring the pupa inside :-) Thanks for checking it out!

  • wow it would probably win in a beauty and dance contest

  • It certainly would - especially at a monster's ball!  XD

  • wow !!1 if u look closely at that things head, it looks precisly like a predator :D check it out :D:D:D!

  • Most of the video is just the caterpillar doing the truffle shuffle

  • Most of the "real" magic is happening inside, and unfortunately I can't get in there to see it. The changes on the outside are pretty strange, too, as the caterpillar morphs into a weird little package in which it completely reforms itself. Fascinating critters, bugs... Thanks for checking it out!

  • @a9bomb I read your comment while hearing the music in the beginning of the video and cracked up xD the caterpillar is doing the truffle shuffle to the video! Lol

  • I'm pretty sure they get exact feedback regarding how long the ads run before viewers leave or click the skip buttons... Google is famous for collecting every little bit of data like that... Oddly, I've actually let some of the skippable pre-roll ads run if they are interesting/funny/entertaining and I haven't seen them before. When advertising is done well, it benefits both the viewer and the advertiser. Too bad more ads aren't interesting or well-placed to that degree...

  • will it still produce silk at a fly?

  • They can only produce silk as a caterpillar. Once they metamorphosize into a pupa and then an adult, they are an almost completely different bug, and can no longer make silk, but they can fly - which I think is a good trade! =)

  • Video of the rest do you have also watch the face the skin or shell or whatever change as the moths antenae shape forms I wanted to see the rest.

  • I don't have any time lapse of this species doing the long-term development, but you can find footage of that in two of my other vids; The California Dogface and the Painted Lady butterfly life cycle vids. You can find them in the videos sidebar of my main channel =)

  • It's like a walrus haha so cute

  • Funny how they do somewhat resemble the those big chubby mammals XD thanks for checking it out! =)

  • i came here cuz the thumbnail looked delicious

  • kewl!

  • Thanks for watching! =)

  • Woah! So that is what happens inside? That is very fascinating. I had no idea it sheds it's caterpillar skin first and then creates a new pupa shell for when it is ready to become a moth. Wow. Very good to know.

  • I definitely thought it was cool to see this part of this moth's metamorphosis happening without the cocoon shell hiding it, but interestingly, most butterflies hae no cocoon and do this right out in the open, so they can be readily abserved. The REAL magic (which is impossible to film) goes on inside the pupa itself, where the caterpillar basically liquifies itself and then re-forms into the adult insect, which emerges after it's fully developed. Fascinating stuff! :-)

  • The cacoon looks like a hard taco shell!

  • It definitely does - and even feels like one, too! XD

  • Talk about "gross science".

  • Some horror movie monsters are based on insect life cycles, which isn't too surprising when you see something like this which appears to be turning inside out!  XD Thanks for visiting!

  • This is highly interesting :)

  • Thanks so much for watching! =)

  • Caterpee evolved into Kacoona!!!

    idgaf about the spelling xP

  • @WTFGiordan, Caterpie evolves into Metapod :P

  • Not sure if they dream, but humans certainly have disturbing dreams about THEM! XD Thanks for checking it out =)

  • where is the moth ?

  • In this phase of the moth's life, it's basically a gooey soup inside the pupal case. After a few months, the moth developed into its adult phase and emerged, mated and finished its life cycle for the full life cycle documentary I have posted here :-)

  • Will it still be able to change even with part of the cocoon cut away?

  • Definitely it will (and did emerge just fine)... The cocoon is a protective casing that helps prevent the pupa from being attacked by predators, and provides a certain amount of shielding from the elements as well. Otherwise, it isn't needed - especially in the lab/studio where it is kept in a very safe environment. Interestingly, butterflies don't make cocoons at all - they just pupate right out in the open, and rely mostly on camoflage for protection :-)

  • OMG He's in a taco shell!!!!!

  • It does look an aweful lot like a yellow corn tortilla shell! XD

  • omg that wow so gross i was tring to eat icecream!

  • When are you going to make another one? And about the pupation, they just liquidize themselves, and they shrink to make a pupa?

  • I'm pretty well done documenting this species, but I have lots more already online in case you'd like to see some others. Insect life cycle phases are interesting; it seems like each phase makes a shell of some sort, develops inside of it, then emerges from it to start the next phase. The caterpillar basically makes a new skin under the old one, pretty much liquifies itself inside, then molts the old skin while it transforms into a pupa. That liquid then reforms into the adult butterfly. :-)

  • @jcmegabyte So it makes liquid to make a pupa?

  • It's an interesting process... First, the caterpillar grows a new skin under the old one, then it molts the old skin revealing the new, soft pupal skin, which then slowly forms to the new shape and hardens into a shell. Inside the pupal shell, the insect essentially liquifies itself down to a thick soup of cells. During metamorphosis, that soup slowly biulds into a new form - the adult insect. When it's fully developed, it cracks-open the pupal shell and crawls out to start the cycle all over.

  • @jcmegabyte So in the pupal stage it's liquid? Before it becomes liquid, it stays the same like it's skin?

  • Part of it is... the whole pupation and internal changes are a long and on-going process. The cellular changes start happening before the final molt and continue all the way until the adult butterfly/moth is fully formed and ready to emerge. Once the pupal shell has hardened, the insides become more and more liquified until there is little solid material left. It may take several days before most of the solid material is dissolved. =)

  • thats just 10/10 amazing!

  • Truly an amazing feat of nature - and not something most people ever get to see... Thanks so much for the view and nice comment! =)

  • @jcmegabyte no probs. ive taken an interest in moths and butterflies since i saw my first ones. OMG the moth i saw was such a beautiful mix of orage colours... i was annoyed though when someone killed it! it was laying eggs as well!

    that was back in primary school adn THANKFULLY the eggs fell into the grass. so at least they were safe!

  • Dude, that's awesome. Nature is so cool

  • Thanks for checking it out! :-)

  • im...confused...

    

  • i fucking hate butterflies... they're beasts. they're scary.. my biggest phobia. :S

  • it looks like a mini walrus

  • It kinda does - those antennae do look a bit like tusks! XD

  • Glorious is God

  • hold on.....is that a cut-open cocoon???

  • Yep... this normally goes on in the more-or less sealed cocoon, completely out of sight. In nature, the cocoon is important for the moth's survival. However, there are no predators in the lab/studio, so it can pupate safely out in the open, just like a butterfly does. This particular moth remained a pupa for about 4 months, and then emerged as a healthy female in October of the same year. :-)

  • @jcmegabyte why does the moth look like a chrysalis after hatching?

  • That's one of the most interesting things about the pupation process - just prior to molting, the caterpillar has already started re-forming itself into a new shape - the shape of the adult moth, all neatly compacted into the pupal case. The moth develops from the liquid inside, its new body fitting exactly into the shape of the shell. It then separates from the shell, emerges and expand its wings - and it's ready go! :-)

  • I couldn't help but cringe while watching this. Anyone else?

  • that was kind of ugly.

    And this poor Butterfly. I somehow don't beliefe that he lifed much longer than some seconds after this clip! Or is it in the end natural that the cocoon is open? Makes me thinking, but it seems like something went wrong for it ...

  • Many parts of insect life cycles are rather hideous in some ways. That's probably why so many horror movie monsters are designed after them XD The cocoon helps protect the pupa from predators and weather, but isn't needed at all in a captive enviroment. After pupating (shown here) this female white-streaked silkmoth hibernated all summer. 4 months later in the fall she emerged, mated, and laid all her eggs before dieing of "old age" a few days after. The adult moths only live a few days. :-)

  • @JcmdiStockFootage mhhhm, just that they stopped a few moments after the metamprhosis was a little unexpectet. *g*

    the ugly part is, that you see it's bowel or ovary or whatever this white stuff is and the feeler are glibbering. ;) In the end it isn't seen in nature. so both, the moth and the eruca ain't ugly ...

    And i'm not shure if it doesn't also protect it against bacteria and stuff?

  • The white-ish stuff is actually fat that the caterpillar stored, and is all it has to live on for the rest of its life since the adult moth can't eat. Pupae are most vulnerable to insect predators like ants, spiders and wasps. However the cocoon isn't sealed very well at one end, so microscopic organisms can easily get in. It isn't a perfect protective scheme, for example, it can help promote mold growth if it gets really wet for a long time. I've found a number of dead, moldy ones in the wild.

  • Imagine humans do it. You're like, turn into a dry corpse, and then the next moment, you break open your own skull and move out of your dry skinny corpse >.> Congratulations, you've metamorphed into a butteruman XD.

  • I'd do it... if it meant I could fly afterwards! =)

  • @jcmegabyte Hahaha! Now that I think of it, that could be how angels are born XD.

  • @jcmegabyte Me too, definitely. :D

  • @NYtassu I like it, it will be nice to make it to a movie, will be better if mixed with zombie chaos theme :D

  • i wanna smoke this thing

  • Was it just me pushing my laptop further and further away from myself with the D: expression on my face O_O;;; And is still rather confused about how i got here whilst watching cake videos D:

  • Hmmm... yes this is an oddly unrelated-to-cake sort of video.. gotta wonder about YT's logic sometimes! XD

  • what? caterpie is trying to evolve!........... tap b to cancel ...................

    congratulations your caterpie has evolved into a metapod!!

  • I always find it amusing how Pokemon are loosely fashioned after lepidoptera :-)

  • @jcmegabyte but you have to admit it is funneh

  • @enematrocoya lol i think that one died

  • Do a barrel Roll

  • lol it's cute  but scary

  • Nature can indeed be both at the same time - many SciFi movie monsters are based on insect life cycles :-)

  • so cute

  • Thanks so much for stopping by! =)

  • I wonder what it's like for them...

  • Wouldn't it be interesting to step into the shoes of other creatures and see/feel things from their point of view... Liquifying yourself and then reforming into another shape has got to be quite the experience! :-)

  • @jcmegabyte It would! Do you think they are concsious when they do this, or is it like going into hibernation? Do they react to outside things?

  • The definitely do react to stimuli, not only during the pupation phase, but they can also do a little wiggle while in the diapaused (hibernation) state as well, if disturbed. Whether their reactions are due to conscious decision or a basic simple nervous system response (or somewhere in between) is pretty-much a mystery. It's thought that diapaused pupae are "triggered" into development by temperature, humidity and even daily light levels (photoperiod). Fascinating critters to study! =)

  • very cool

  • This was one of my best HD close-ups... I hope to re-do some of my older stuff in HD eventually :-)

  • @jcmegabyte it sure looks it too! I'll be prob scoping out your vids from sometime to come! have alot of catching up to do around YT...but I been around more now. In Portland, wasnt around for mnths.

  • sooo moths spin a cocoon whereas butterflies don't?

  • For the most part that's the pretty much true. However, there are so many thousands of species with so much variety that you can't always tell by just that one factor. Thanks for checking it out :-)

  • For the most part that's true. However, there are so many thousands of species with so much variation that you can't always tell by just that one factor. Thanks for checking it out :-)

  • so so SQUISHY LOOKING

  • That pretty-much covers it!  XD They are basically just bags of juice, without much structure internally. Once the new skin hardens they are more solid though.

  • HOLY COW!!! 

  • Perhaps a little closer than you wanted to get? :-) Nature does some pretty amazing things... Thanks for checking it out!

  • @jcmegabyte :))))))))

  • OH FUCK THAT'S JUST FUCKING NASTY I HATE CATERPILLARS AND IT'S JUST EWWWAHHEGOLEJTWVYE5TNW4T5GBW5B­GTISHORHGLYILTIR!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • wow! I'm really impressed. but why is it that the caterpillars do not die when the cocoons are opened?

  • The cocoon is really just a protective shell to keep it from being attacked by wasps, ants, birds, etc. They are quite edible to just about every hungry critter out there. In the wild, one of these pupae without a cocoon wouldn't last long, but in the protected environment of the rearing lab it was quite safe, and happily emerged as a healthy adult moth about 4 months later. Interestingly, butterly pupae don't have cocoons - they just hang out in the open, using camoflage for protection. :-)

  • scary shit

  • Thank you! You've answered a question I've had since I was five. I never knew exactly what happened inside the cocoon.

  • Glad I could help! Thanks for watching and commenting :-)

  • so it takes off its skin and then hardens??

  • Yes, that's pretty much it. The new skin forms under the old one, which takes a coupld of days. When the caterpillar is ready, it molts the old skin and then waits a couple of hours for the new one to "dry" and harden before it resumes eating and growing. While the new skin is still fresh, the caterpillar is exteremely vulnerable to attack by predators.

  • basically this is puberty for the caterpiller..

  • Pretty much... and it can be a really LONG puberty too, since some butterflies/moths can remain in the pupal form for 5-7 years which is huge compared to the rest of their life cycle phases. Good thing they don't get acne! XD

  • @jcmegabyte I wish I had spent my puberty sleeping in a silk cast. it would have been a lot less stressfull.

  • HUH?!?!?! where is the butterfly???

  • It's in there.... but it won't be coming out for 1-2 years XD

  • ......i think the head part of both forms are going to be in my nightmares tonight considering how the molted shell of the head looked like it was exploding and then it was replaced by something that looked like it should belong in a horror movie just.... extra super sized......*shiver*