Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar Molting (realtime)

This Ford's Indra Swallowtail caterpillar has outgrown its skin and needs to shed it. The caterpillar stopped feeding and began preparing for this event 2-3 days earlier. During that time, it developed a new skin under the old one, and also started growing a new head capsule (one of the very few hard-skeletal caterpillar structures) below the old one. As molting time approaches, strange body movements take place as it begins to loosen the old skin. Then, it wriggles free of the old skin using a crawling motion. When finally clear of the old skin, it knocks its old head capsule free (seen as the small black button-shaped object on the caterpillar's face).

Note that the caterpillar's new head capsule is now a light creamy color, and is still soft. Over the next 2 hours or so, the head capsule will darken as it hardens into exoskeleton. A short while later, the caterpillar will turn about-face and proceed to eat its old skin (see next video), the protein providing some extra nurishment as it begins its next larval phase (instar).

The music is "310 Fill" (310 Solo)from the Solo CD by TECHNICIAN. More info, complete discography and many free tracks available at technician.jcmdi.com.

Category:

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[nekcr0]

For anyone who likes this, check out the documentary "In the Company of Wild Butterflies;" it's available instantly on Netflix

[JCMDIweirdStuff]

I'll have to check that out - thanks for the heads-up ! =)

[Frigdogg]

This is not a spider growing under someone's skin.

[Ahamster1]

you know theres nothing in a caterpillar that tells you that its gonna be a butterfly

[casandra1010]

@Ahamster1 lol ikr I know right

[DrHerbz]

It's time-lapse

[JcmdiStockFootage]

@DrHerbz  When I was typing the title, I wasn't sure exactly what to call this kind of photography (any ideas?). The footage itself is just a collection of real-time scenes, shot over the course of the 2-hour event, with short fades in between, so it's not really a true timelapse like I normally make. Perhaps "realtime excerpts" might be a better description...

[DrHerbz]

If it's 2 hours condensed into 2 minutes, then how can it be 'realtime'?

[8plus8]

@Frigdogg hahah did you see it on facebook and search it up?

[8summerlove]

i love how it shakes its butt

[xKJAl]

caterpie was gonna evolve but i guess it was holding an everstone