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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Caterpillars Day 3

Do they look bigger?

Fun caterpillar facts:
-Some caterpillars eat up to 27,000 times their body weight!
-A caterpillar increases its mass by up to 1,000 times (or more).
-A caterpillar's first meal is its protein-rich eggshell.
-As caterpillar outgrows its skin, it molts.  Each stage between molts is called an instar.
-A caterpillar goes through 5 or 6 instars before pupating (becoming a chrysalis).
-While a caterpillar only has 3 pairs of true legs, it has five pairs of stumpy "prolegs" on its abdomen.  The prolegs are not jointed (like true legs) and have hooks to help the caterpillar hold onto plants and climb vertically.  (Adults - butterflies - do not have prolegs.)

Here are our caterpillars on Day 1 and Day 2.



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