Answer:
a. when they emerge
Explanation:
This excerpt deals with a life cycle of a butterfly, which goes from an egg to a caterpillar to a pupa, finally, to a butterfly.
After they cover themselves with a cocoon, caterpillars shed layers of their skin to form a pupa ( or chrysalis). In this stage, they undergo changes, metamorphosis and remodeling of their cells to turn into a butterfly which will emerge from the cocoon.
All the given answers may sound similar and have almost the same meaning, but when it comes to butterflies, the correct verb is to emerge from the cocoon.