What’s the difference between a chrysalis and a cocoon? The short answer is that a chrysalis is made by a butterfly and a cocoon by a moth. Both contain a pupa, the stage between a caterpillar and a butterfly or moth. Insects like moths and butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis and have four life stages – egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The pupa is a transforming stage in which the caterpillar (larva) develops into a winged adult.
The chrysalis, made by a butterfly caterpillar, is a hard exoskeleton or shell that protects the pupa as it undergoes development to become a butterfly. When development is complete, the chrysalis splits and the butterfly crawls out.
A cocoon is the protective silk covering a moth caterpillar makes for the developing pupa within. The cocoon provides warmth and protection. Unlike a cocoon, a chrysalis doesn’t have silk. When the moth is ready to come out, an opening forms at one end of the cocoon, and the moth emerges.
Silk originated in China over 5,000 years ago. Wild silk moths were domesticated and their larvae (caterpillars) produce the fine fibers we know as silk today. Silk moth caterpillars feed on mulberry leaves.
