2022 June 15

   Rosemary Jorna showed pictures of a Ceanothus Silk Moth laying an egg on May 6, and a first instar caterpillar on May 27.  Now she writes:  I caught my Ceanothus Silk Moth “undressing”.  In slightly more technical language, that would be “undergoing ecdysis”.  The caterpillar shown below is fourth instar.  The head is down, near the bottom of the photograph.  Near the top of the photograph we see the last two segments of the caterpillar pulling away from the yellowish mass above it.  This yellowish mass is the shed skin of the previous (third) instar.

Hyalophora euryalus (Lep.: Saturniidae)   Rosemary Jorna