Earth

Monarch butterflies go into metamorphosis as one creature and emerge with a dramatically different microbiome.¹

As monarch caterpillars eat their way through milkweed, their gut bacteria shift during larval development. Then, inside the chrysalis, the microbial community is reshaped. The adult butterfly that emerges carries a gut community markedly different from their caterpillar stage.
Every butterfly in this tree crossed 3,000 miles to a mountain in Michoacán, Mexico it had never seen—each one carrying a newly shaped microbiome for the journey.

📸: @hobopeeba