ANSWERS: 1
  • During metamorphosis the entire body is remodeled and reorganized, including the nervous system. The details are still not worked out in great detail. I found an article specifically on 3-dimensional MRI imaging of the brain of a moth http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WNP-4DVW1P6-4&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=1047d4f1b7fd1f147ed4271fc26cd914 that says, "Pronounced developmental alterations of the morphology [of cerebral structures such as the antennal nerve, antennal and optical lobe, and central brain] were observed during metamorphosis." So much for structure. The question of "consciousness" is another matter altogether. It's not clear that an insect -- or indeed any invertebrate "lower animal" -- has what we humans would identify as consciousness. In any case, as its brain develops and remodels, the function and connectivity of its nervous system no doubt changes as well. Is a newborn baby "conscious"? As it develops self-awareness as an older infant, I'm not sure it's internal experience has been "replaced" by another so much as just continuing to develop. However this is not comparable to a bug, which -- despite having complex and purposeful behaviors -- probably has no sense of "self" whatsoever, as either larva or adult.

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