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The cocoon of a Cynamoth pupa against a wall in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, southwest China. The pupa wove a delicate 4cm-long cocoon cage with its hair-like setae. The cage provides protection against predators and once inside, the caterpillar spits out silk, spinning fine threads to suspend itself, head first from the cage while it becomes a pupa. The cage has an aperture at either end, out of which the caterpillar expels its outer layer after its final moult. Once it has reorganised its body, it emerges from the top as a white moth, decorated in red and black. (Behaviour: invertebrates category). (Photo by Minghui Yuan)
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