Calling all Scientists!

I heard from many of you about our mystery photo. And so many kids were so close.The first picture I posted was of an Anise Swallowtail Butterfly Egg! The adult butterfly lays this egg and puts it carefully on an anise plant. You can see the egg AND the anise habitat in the picture carousel. After a few days, the egg hatches and out comes a Caterpillar! At first it is very very tiny. And guess what it does with the egg shell once it hatches? The tiny caterpillar eats it! The egg shell is the caterpillar's first meal. After that the caterpillar begins munching and munching and munching the anise plant. The anise plant is its home or Habitat AND its food. The tiny caterpillar grows and grows and eventually its skin gets too tight, just like your clothes when you grow. It sheds its skin and then eats it! If you look carefully at the photos in the carousel, you'll see the caterpillar and its newly shed skin. Shedding is also called Molting. When you look at the last photo, see how the caterpillar's colors look a little big different after it sheds. Have fun looking at all the photos and keep checking here for more pictures as our caterpillar grows!

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