Monarch caterpillars molt (shed their skin) five times throughout their larval stage. The "skin" that is left behind is actually the caterpillar's exoskeleton. An insect's skeleton is on the outside, as opposed to on the instead like mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Endoskeletons provide support inside the body in the form of bones and cartilage, whereas As caterpillars grow, their exoskeleton gets too tight, so they need to shed it in order to continue to grow. Each molt results in a new "instar" stage. Therefore, when the egg hatches, that tiny 2 mm caterpillar is in its first instar stage.

 

It will molt three more times and grow exponentially over a couple of weeks. Each stage lasts 3-5 days. The fifth and final molt is when the fifth instar caterpillar becomes a chrysalis.

Comparison3MilkweedFlowers.jpg

Our iOS Apps

Our iOS Apps

Naturedigger_registered_tm copy 2.png
  • Home

  • About Us

  • Monarch Butterflies

  • Milkweed

  • Nature Nuggets Blog

  • More

    • All Posts
    • Milkweed ID slides
    • General Nature Nuggets
    Search
    • Naturedigger
      • Dec 28, 2020
      • 0 min read

    Happy New Year!



    2 views0 comments

    Recent Posts

    See All

    New milkweed life cycle slide

    70

    Monarch butterflies denied protection for many years. That's not good news.

    20

    Engelmann's milkweed (Asclepias engelmanniana) is our latest milkweed ID slide

    40

    Contact

    Support Us

    Use of Images

    Privacy Policy

    © 2021 by Naturedigger

    • YouTube
    • Twitter