#2: Jun 11th 2016 at 4:04:59 PM
If you lack confidence that this is a new trope, you should ask in Trope Finder. Otherwise, the better place for your proposal is Trope Launch Pad.
Total posts: 2
I don't believe this is an existing trope, but I think this would be an interesting new one, as I've often noticed this happening in media, especially for kids.
It usually would begin with a caterpillar, or even a whole bunch of them, and by the end of the episode or whatever, the caterpillar would have gone through its' metamorphosis and transformed into a butterfly. Sometimes a fictional butterfly specimen is used, sometimes it will be based off a real one (it's often been done with Monarch butterflies.) More often than not, it will be said a butterfly emerges from its "cocoon," which is scientifically inaccurate. Butterfly caterpillars pupate in a "chrysalis"; only moths make cocoons.
A very famous example of this is Eric Carle's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," but I have seen numerous other instances, sometimes in edutainment shows, sometimes even in regular sitcoms. Here are some more I can think of...
This is also often done in elementary schools to teach younger kids about the butterfly life cycle, usually using Painted Lady butterflies (a common specimen found everywhere across America that is quite easy to breed), that are then released into the wild among turning into butterflies (this may contribute to their being quite common.)