What do caterpillars turn into?

Caterpillars turn into butterflies. More precisely, a caterpillar is the larval stage of a butterfly or moth, and it eventually changes into an adult winged insect through metamorphosis.

The process begins when the caterpillar hatches from an egg and spends most of its time eating and growing. After several molts, it forms a chrysalis, also called a pupa. Inside, its body is reorganized before the adult butterfly emerges, expands its wings, and begins the reproductive stage of its life cycle.

A common mix-up is that not every caterpillar becomes a butterfly: many become moths. Butterfly and moth larvae can look very similar, so scientists identify them using features such as body structure, behavior, and the adult insect's wings and antennae. In ordinary children's trivia, however, “butterflies” is the expected answer when butterflies are the only winged-insect choice.