Minghui Yuan's Image

With his face pressed against a wall, Minghui framed this Cyana moth pupa hanging in its remarkable cage-like cocoon. Such delicate structures can be hard to spot but this one stood out against its backdrop in the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden.

Although it is not known exactly how the caterpillar architect of this cocoon would have worked, it is known that it wove this intricate mesh from spat-out silk and from the long, hair-like setae that covered its body. It then spun near-invisible threads to suspend itself inside the cocoon, ready to start its transformation into a moth.