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| The latest skin change (I think) |
My caterpillars are causing some confusion for me 20 days on since they've hatched. Because half of them emerged a day later than others during their 3rd skin shed, there is now a mix of different stages of development. Some are still busy fatting up before the 4th skin shed, while others are now in the process of this latest shed as they hug the branches motionless and there's even a handful that have finished moulting, leaving the old shrivelled up skin behind as the only clue. The problem is that each of these three stages look very similar with subtle variations. I've got some that are dark green, some that are bright green, some with dark striping and others without, while some have yellow spots and some with pink.
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| On closer inspection, this is what the new skin looks like |
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| Discarded skin |
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| A variety of stages, skin colours and patterns! |
Which of them is doing what is a bit tricky to deceiver, but at least I know that they've reached (or reaching) the 4th skin shed, which means they're close to the end of their lives as caterpillars. A caterpillar usually shed their skins 4 or 5 times, though can have more. So its time for a friendly sweepstake. Do you think they will have 1, 2 or 3 more sheds or will they skip the shedding altogether and transform into cocoons next? Place your bets now! I'm hoping its 1 more.
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