NOVA Online | Japan's Secret Garden | Animal Transformations

Animal Transformations

Every spring, the most extraordinary metamorphoses of insects take place by the million-fold around the world. Among butterflies and moths, for instance, pupae—erstwhile caterpillars holed up for the winter in cocoons—begin wriggling about inside their cramped homes. Soon they push out of the cocoon into the open air, their bodies still glistening with fluids that lubricated their passage from the pupal skin. For the first time, they unfold and test their complement of four wings and six legs, which until now have remained fused to their bodies. Their metamorphosis now complete, the newly minted insects fly off in a fervent search for food, mates, and suitable spots to lay their eggs.

In the five clips from "Japan's Secret Garden" presented here, watch five species of insect transform themselves into something utterly new.

		*Japan's omurasaki* butterfly** View the clip in: QuickTime \| RealVideo: dialup \| broadband Get video software: QuickTime \| RealPlayer

		Giant water bugs View the clip in: QuickTime \| RealVideo: dialup \| broadband

		Red dragonfly View the clip in: QuickTime \| RealVideo: dialup \| broadband

		Cicada View the clip in: QuickTime \| RealVideo: dialup \| broadband

		Cabbage butterfly View the clip in: QuickTime \| RealVideo: dialup \| broadband