Can Butterflies Remember Being Caterpillars?
Nat Theo Nature Lessons Rooted in the Bible
Eryn Lynum
4.8 • 618 Ratings
🗓️ 25 July 2023
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Can butterflies remember their younger days as caterpillars crawling across plants and munching on leaves? My kids are chiming in on today's episode as we explore:
- How do caterpillars turn into butterflies?
- Do other creatures experience a similar change?
- Can butterflies remember being caterpillars?
- Why are our memories so important?
Resources:
Video of ladybug larva (babies) on Eryn's Instagram Page
Eryn's New Book: Rooted In Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation
Scriptures Referenced in this Episode:
"If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Remember the wondrous works that he has done.” 1 Chronicles 16:12
“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
“You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well.” Psalm 139:13-14
Terms Introduced:
Metamorphosis: A big change in physical form. A change of the body.
Larva: Baby form of an insect.
Exoskeleton: Hard outer shell, skeleton on the outside of the body.
Molt: When an insect sheds its exoskeleton.
Pupa: Protective case a creature enters into to go through metamorphosis.
Imaginal Discs: Group of cells that become the new parts of the butterfly.
Mushroom Bodies: Part of the brain that stores memories about taste and smell.
Discover more nature lessons rooted in the Bible at Erynlynum.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Magnify: A Wild & Wonderful Summer Adventure by Nat Theo
Join us for summer Bible & nature study! https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/magnify
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Nat Theo podcast, where we explore nature, the Bible, and what both of them show us about our Creator God, who made this wild and wonderful world. |
| 0:17.6 | I'm your host, Aaron Linum. I'm a certified master naturalist, Bible teacher, and author. |
| 0:24.4 | And I am so excited to explore God's word and his created world with you. I love hearing what things |
| 0:36.6 | in nature you kids are curious about. Like the time my five-year-old |
| 0:41.0 | daughter asked me if the son brushes its teeth before it goes to bed at night. Or this question |
| 0:47.2 | that came from my 10-year-old son, he asked me if butterflies can remember being caterpillars. |
| 0:57.1 | I couldn't get his question out of my mind because it's so fascinating to think about. Can a butterfly remember being a caterpillar? His question inspired |
| 1:05.3 | today's episode and here's our trail map. We are going to look at how do caterpillars turn into butterflies? |
| 1:13.2 | And are there other creatures that experience a similar change? We're going to look at do |
| 1:18.7 | butterflies remember being caterpillars and why are our memories so important? But first, |
| 1:27.1 | I have a trivia question for you. What animal has the longest |
| 1:32.7 | memory? Think about your answer and we will find out at the end of today's episode. Now, I promise we will |
| 1:42.0 | find an answer to my son's question about whether butterflies can |
| 1:46.0 | remember being caterpillars. But first, we have some important things to dig into, because we |
| 1:52.9 | can't talk about butterflies' memories until we first look at how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly |
| 1:59.9 | in the first place. One of the most amazing changes |
| 2:05.0 | that happens in nature is when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. This change is called |
| 2:12.1 | metamorphosis. What is metamorphosis? Put simply, metamorphosis is a change in a creature's physical form, that is, |
| 2:23.8 | their body. More specifically, it's when a creature changes from its immature or baby form, which is called |
| 2:33.2 | larva, into its adult form. And the way the caterpillar does this |
| 2:40.0 | is quite amazing. You see, a caterpillar begins its life inside of an egg. That egg was laid on a plant |
| 2:49.9 | by its mother, who happens to be a butterfly. Once the |
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