Father taking up a chrysalis (4)
I believe the answer is:
pupa
'a chrysalis' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'father taking up' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'taking' is an insertion indicator.
'pa' going around 'up' is 'PUPA'.
(Other definitions for pupa that I've seen before include "developing creature" , "creepy-crawly" , "One is growing" , "Phase of insect life" , "So peacock may have appeared" .)