# Caterpillars and Butterflies
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 3, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531 "2009-06-03T01:41:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/1 "2009-06-03T01:41:20Z")
Do ALL caterpillars turn into butterflies? Are all butterflies from caterpillars?
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### Author:  [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/2 "2009-06-03T01:48:17Z")
> [@congodwarf](#):
>
> Do ALL caterpillars turn into butterflies?
No, most caterpillars turn into moths or skippers. In addition to that some of the animals that people call caterpillars are wasp larvae. And just to be appropriately weird [some caterpillars](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2370/how-do-caterpillars-have-sex) don’t turn into anything else.
> [@](#):
>
> Are all butterflies from caterpillars?
Yes.
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### Author:  [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/3 "2009-06-03T01:50:12Z")
> [@congodwarf](#):
>
> Do ALL caterpillars turn into butterflies?
Except the ones that become moths ;). There are some vaguely caterpillar-like critters that aren’t actual caterpillars ( like some wasp larvae ), but otherwise, yes, all Lepidoptera by definition.
> [@](#):
>
> Are all butterflies from caterpillars?
Yes.
ETA: Ah, two minutes too late!
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### Author:  [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/4 "2009-06-03T01:59:43Z")
Thank you both very much.
You ever notice how stoned people tend to get their brains stuck on something very basic?
My oldest sister got obsessed with bubbles last time.
My middle sister is currently obsessing on butterflies and caterpillars.
I’m, for some odd reason, glad I don’t smoke pot.
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/5 "2009-06-03T03:48:05Z")
> [@Blake](#):
>
> No, most caterpillars turn into moths or skippers. In addition to that some of the animals that people call caterpillars are wasp larvae. And just to be appropriately weird [some caterpillars](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2370/how-do-caterpillars-have-sex) don’t turn into anything else.
Wow, that’s a classic column that I somehow missed, great job there Colibri. I should have expected that somehow somewhere there was a horrible horrible disgusting moth that had perverted sex with a caterpillar.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/6 "2009-06-03T04:23:22Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> Wow, that’s a classic column that I somehow missed, great job there Colibri. I should have expected that somehow somewhere there was a horrible horrible disgusting moth that had perverted sex with a caterpillar.
Thanks. I enjoyed helping Cecil with that one, which actually had been filed in the Mailbag section for “questions too dumb to answer.”
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### Author:  [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/7 "2009-06-03T04:35:55Z")
> [@congodwarf](#):
>
> Thank you both very much.
>
> You ever notice how stoned people tend to get their brains stuck on something very basic?
>
> My oldest sister got obsessed with bubbles last time.
>
> My middle sister is currently obsessing on butterflies and caterpillars.
> I’m, for some odd reason, glad I don’t smoke pot.
a majority of my posts including this one happen whilst high
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### Author:  [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caterpillars-and-butterflies/498531/8 "2009-06-03T16:23:32Z")
Many, many caterpillars are destined to be food for other species. That’s why so many eggs are laid.