Caterpillar metamorphosis imaged using x rays

BBC : Caterpillars create a chrysalis around themselves to undergo metamorphosis into butterflies. A team of scientists from several universities in the UK have used a series of x-ray computed tomography (CT) scans to image the structure of the animal inside the chrysalis. Three scans were taken: one a day before the metamorphosis began, one of a week-old chrysalis, and one a day before the butterfly emerged. The researchers used the images to “digitally dissect” the insect to examine the transformations of the respiratory system and internal organs. They found that most of the changes occurred by the time of the second imaging. Mark Greco of the University of Bath, who pioneered the use of medical technology to study insects and was on the research team, says he thinks the quick transformation was likely driven by the vulnerability of the insect while it is in the chrysalis: The faster the metamorphosis, the shorter the period of vulnerability.