This awesome creature (yes, this really is a living thing, not a piece of candy or glass) is a Jewel Caterpillar (Acraga coa) spotted by naturalist and photographer Gerardo Aizpuru near Cancun, Mexico.

The bottom image, as you might’ve surmised, shows the bright and impressively furry moth that this wicked little caterpillar eventually becomes. Transforming from one sort of awesome creature into another different, but still entirely awesome, creature? We’re seriously impressed. [via.]