I doubt it. A cool thing I remember reading though is that despite their bodies liquefying in the process of becoming a butterfly, they can still remember things they learned to avoid as a caterpillar.
It's really hard to say what animals and bugs know, for example I even wonder if our cats know they're going to die someday. I would think it's unlikely the caterpillar knows it will turn into a butterfly, but then, animals are generally smarter than we give them credit for, and we don't really understand how instinct works or how deep it may go..
Insects have no brain. They instead have a ladder shaped net of nerve strings and knots in their belly. We as humans do have that too. We use the equivalent of those gut nerves as humans for having an autonomous digestive system independent from our brain. Any attempt to have a sensible exchange of info with my gut nerves is a pain and never succeeded. So I assume the gut nerves of insects have also limited intellectual abilities. So I fear knowing something in a conscious way is beyond its ability too.
Caterpillars don’t worry or expect anything in particular. They may lack the cognitive ability to comprehend their potential future transformation. But, they know they will one day become something, maybe they don’t know it’ll be beautiful. They don’t actively encourage themselves, they just wait, and someday, something happens, they grow into themselves. Which, I think is an applicable mantra for people too.
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