 Once the larvae have undergone their last instar, the caterpillars pupate in a chrysalis.Unlike many moths, which build cocoons to pupate in, the majority of butterfly pupae are "naked", meaning without the protection of the earth or a cocoon to protect them.After it has reached the end of its last instar, it sheds its skin (molting or apolysis), becoming a soft fleshy pupae, wherein upon close observation many parts of the future butterfly can be seen prior to the new skin hardening.