Butterflies get all the love—but caterpillars may be even more stunning
A photographer reveals the astonishing ways these masters of metamorphosis can fool their predators and us.
![Green caterpillar hanging on white flower stem.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/18fd29a2-4cff-4a48-8f54-78e93741bba8/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Gravity-Hyalophora_cecropia.jpg)
Before they transform into moths and butterflies, caterpillars must outwit, outplay, outlast. Sam Jaffe’s images of the tubular creatures show just how: through mimicry, defensive adaptations, and partnerships with plants. The naturalist-photographer has been enamored with the insects since age four. “I used to bring them into my parents’ house,” he says. “They’d find them crawling up the walls.” While working at Harvard University, Jaffe began taking pictures of native caterpillars during his free time, then displaying the results at local galleries. The exhibitions sparked so much interest that he launched an educational nonprofit, the Caterpillar Lab, in 2013, to open our eyes to these masters of metamorphosis and inspire their protection.
(How a caterpillar becomes a butterfly: Metamorphosis, explained.)
![Two green caterpillars hanging from remaining stem of the eaten leaf.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/ead4209e-7ecd-4cd0-b708-213a109f1b02/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Heavy-Fruit-Pachysphinx_modesta.jpg)
![Caterpillar camouflages to blend in the partially eaten leaf.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/22a2b7c8-996f-4f38-ba96-71735f78b89a/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Leaf-Edge-anassa_lignicolor.jpg)
![Dark hairy caterpillar on vertical plant stem.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/9a5d8977-900a-42fc-a222-0546d4798320/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Dagger-Acronicta_hasta.jpg)
![Two caterpillars resembling faded parts of the flower.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/7b8b8a68-ff05-4891-b105-a4dcf54d68a2/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Verbena-Eupithecia_miserulata.jpg)
![Green caterpillar hanging from green stem of faded flower.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/1b5462f4-244c-4302-8717-4321af2e5b87/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Lettuce-Autographa.jpg)
![Two brown caterpillars almost undetectable on brown scorched leaves.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/dd6b3568-5a23-4999-9ae1-d4bedd554f76/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Dead_Leaves_Ceratomia_amyntor.jpg)
![Three caterpillars looking exactly like green part of the flower stem.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/490ea2ca-7145-4013-a420-c9475adf09b5/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Emeralds_Chlorochlamys_chloroleucaria.jpg)
![Colorful caterpillar capeating the shape of a plant stem.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/5b759056-337c-4490-bd84-ae80840bafdb/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Grapevine-Alypia_octomaculata.jpg)
![Two empty chrysalises.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/12779f87-2704-4b54-9f18-b5508a568fa9/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Chrysalis_Painted_Lady_Vanessa_cardui.jpg)
![Group of caterpillars with black and white stripes.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/80a64047-da6a-4b99-9a86-fa656f02a05b/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Phosphila_Abstract_Phosphila_turbulenta.jpg)
![Two rusty colored caterpillars on remaining part of the leaf.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/f96e910c-7dd2-4353-9d18-a5decc9057be/STOCKPKG_MM10233_White_blotched_Prominent_on_Oak.jpg)
![Perfect side view of green caterpillar finishing eating half of green leaf.](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/c5c914ff-5134-4ce3-b54a-14e12466f05e/STOCKPKG_MM10233_Leaf_Edge_Nerice_bidentata.jpg)
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