poisonous caterpillars = poisonous butterflies?

[BeckyEmms]

Do poisonous caterpillars stay poisonous once they are butterflies.

From Emily age 8

[andy-hughes]

No. The purpose of a poisonous caterpillar is to deter predators who would deplete the population before they got off the ground - literally!

Once airborn as a butterfly, these insects have a far higher survival rate, thanks to the ability to fly away from potenial enemies.

[BeckyEmms]

Thanks. How does the poison go away?

[darkmatter]

The poison gets re-organised along with rest of the caterpillar's body when it transforms, or metamorphoses, into a butterfly inside its pupa

[Clanad]

You�ll learn soon, Emily, that even among knowledgeable people that there can be disagreements. I�m going to present one here.
In the Western Hemisphere, the boldly colored female Monarch butterfly lays her eggs on the poisonous Milkweed plant. When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the Milkweed and consume the toxins which help protect them as larvae. Once they enter the chrysalis stage and prepare to emerge as the adult Monarch, they continue to have the toxins that were consumed as larvae. This helps protect them during adulthood, especially since they are so vividly colored. Some large predators, such as birds and frogs will consume the adult, but do so rarely because of the bad taste and side affects. None are so poisonous that they would kill anything, with the possible exception of an African moth that the natives use to poison the tips of thier arrow. This will, apparently kill some small game animals. Check here for even more information: http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/yates/mg%20articles/MG8.1.01.htm , and keep on being curious, Emily� good question!