Michigan 4-H Children's Gardens

The word chrysalis comes from the Greek word "cyrsos" meaning golden. Chrysalis can take on many forms. Some are leaf mimics, while others are covered with gold flecks.

Inside the chrysalis is where the transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly takes place. The caterpillar's tissues are broken down into a "cellular soup", reorganized and gradually rebuilt into the adult butterfly. Some butterflies pass the winter as a chrysalis while others are in this stage for only a few weeks.

What's that red stuff?

Butterflies excrete a red liquid which is sometimes mistaken for blood when in reality it is actually meconium, "pupal fluid" which isn't blood at all. It is made up of waste material that is produced during the pupal stage.