Lux-Mil has shed for the first time. From hatching on 2-25-18, to now shedding an becoming a second instar caterpillar on 1-1-18. This is Lux-Mil's measurement on 1-1-18. After shedding, caterpillars then turn around and eat the old skin. Eweee gross right!? Yes, gross to us, but there are lots of nutrients needed in that old skin. Besides, that is one way of reducing your carbon footprint. Hmmmmm, thinking we can learn something from nature right here. Lots of ways to reduce our carbon footprint.
Caterpillars go through 5 instars before pupating to become an adult.
And this early in the season, they grow very slowly right now. So other than cleaning frass, not much is going on with Lux-Mil. I can definitely see some changes and growth. The color is much darker and the spikes are very black. Lux-Mil is looking a little tougher these days. But looks are definitely deceiving. These spikes do not hurt us one bit. But, if a bird eats it, it sure is uncomfortable going down. This helps the caterpillars against predators. If we were to touch or hold it, they just feel like stiff hairs. They are pretty flexible too.
Still some time before we have a beautiful butterfly. But today I took another measurement and man did Lux-Mil grow in just two days!! before long I will actually be able to hold it. Right now it is still very young, so I rather not handle it just yet. But you can definitely see the growth in the here.
I will keep track every few days, and definitely every week I'll take measurements. I'm curious as to how much these little guys grow every few days. Will keep you posted.
So until next time, Peace, Love, and Butterflies ✌🏼💝🦋🦋
