When is a butterfly's birthday?

[Mysterian]

Is it when it hatches from it's egg to be a caterpillar, or when it comes out it's crispylid and becomes a butterfly?

Does it even remember being a caterpillar? Maybe it does but doesn't want to be reminded of it.

It doesn't remember being a caterpillar. The entire contents of the chrysalis liquifies to a goop that reforms into a butterfly, there are no neuron cells that could remember anything previous. Think of the caterpillar stage as being like a mobile mechanism for gathering the energy needed for gestation of the actual creature. The birthday would be the anniversary of emerging as a butterfly (not that they ever live as long as a year)

I'd say hatches from the egg. Most species spend much longer as a larva/caterpillar than as an adult. 'Crispylid' should be chrysalis (or pupa) but it sounds quite sweet!

There is some intriguing research suggesting that if a caterpillar learns to avoid a particular smell, then the butterfly avoids the same smell. But who knows how because the metamorphosis breaks everything down.

crispylid

Ha ha, love it!

So cute!

I knew I wasn't going to get close enough to the real word even for spellcheck.

So it seems like the second birth day is the one. I'm guessing they'll prefer flowers to cake.

On Lepidoptera, I just rescued a Riband Wave moth from the shower in a wine glass and DD put it out the front door.