New Skin. Old Skin. Every time I witness a hairy species of caterpillar next to its freshly shed previous instar skin, the question arises: How does a hairy caterpillar develop with a completely new duplicate hair coat beneath the the current one? It is perfectly reasonable to understand how body contours, limbs and hollow structures, even spines and bristles (usually because they are hollow) can be replicated with the molting process, but for a full hair coat to exist beneath the surface is a hard concept to grasp. Moth caterpillars and their previous instar skins…. https://flickr/photos/itchydogimages/14560864351 https://flickr/photos/itchydogimages/13769831923 Puer, Yunnan, China
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 05:20:11 +0000