Eri update: Fourth Skins!

The shift into the fourth instar has begun! Three of the six caterpillars are now in the fourth instar.

Here, you can see a cat that has just shed its third skin, which is neatly bunched up behind it. A couple of them walked around for an hour or so with these skins stuck to their butts, which was comical. Note the black spots along the sides, those are new. Also note how big the head is! Each instar gets a much bigger head, because the body will keep growing into it until it’s time to shed again.

Here, you can see the translucence of the just-shed cat. The green line running down its back is actually it’s “heart” – you can watch it beat, pulsing the insect-ichor through its body. Yes, my life really IS that exciting.

Here, you can see how much they’ve grown! I just patched in the picture from the first day, and matched up the dime.