7 Observing Change

Have you ever outgrown something?

Just like babies, caterpillars eat a large amount of food and grow rapidly. But their skin is actually a rigid external skeleton called an exoskeleton. As they eat and grow their soft bodies outgrow their exoskeleton and have to grow a new one!

Molting is when an insects sheds their exoskeleton and grow a new one.

How can you tell that the Butterfly has molted?

You will also noticed the spinning left by the caterpillar after a molt!

After the molt, the caterpillar’s bristles and exoskeleton are extremely pale.