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.
Our iOS Apps
Our iOS Apps
It's Time for the Privacy Talk...
Naturedigger's Privacy Policy
Effective: November 20, 2018
This Privacy Policy describes how Naturedigger uses information collected using our iOS mobile apps and our website.
Information Collected about You:
Naturedigger may receive user data and other information provided by the user only if they choose to use our feedback email located in the slide out menu of our educational apps, or if they use our Contact option on the Naturedigger website. Using either of these options is not mandatory, and therefore the user is not in any way required to give personal information to Naturedigger at any time. If a user chooses to contact Naturedigger, the only information we receive will be an email address from the sender and any additional information provided by the user in the email, such as a name. We do not sell or share email address.
Other Organizations Using Naturedigger App Users' Information:
Several organizations use Naturedigger's apps to collect data for their programs. These include universities, nonprofit organizations and state and federal agencies. Naturedigger app users' information (specifically citizen scientist’s information) is requested by these organizations when our reporting forms are used in the field. Location information is automatically included in every report using the GPS function, but not a user’s physical address or other personal information. Organizations may collect a user’s name, email address, phone number, city and state in order to be contacted by the organization collecting data or for that organization to determine where a species is occurring in a specific region of the United States. Information included in reports by users in our apps is not accessed by, or used by, Naturedigger in any way. Ever.
Contact us at:
info@naturedigger.com or use the Contact form on this website.