'Old Clothes'

Once the Monarch Caterpillar emerges from it's egg, it begins to eat the leaves of the milkweed plant where it's mom laid her eggs. * extra...Female Monarch 'Ovipositing' her eggs. Once free of the egg the tiny larva consumes the eggshell and begins to eat milkweed leaves. As the caterpillar grows it must shed it's 'Old Clothes' and goes through this process up to four times during the caterpillar stage. I've never been able to get a good photo of the castoff skin. Managed to do so today!