Trygve Update

We came home late tonight and for the first time I caught Trygve molting. He was nearly out of his old skin, hanging from the top of his enclosure by about a centimeter of his long narrow abdomen still stuck in the old shell. He had two sets of curled up, turquoise wings, much larger than the last version. He eventually wiggled completely free and the old skin dropped to the floor where a cricket quickly ran over to investigate. I reached in and removed this fragile carcass and studied it, amazed at the thin membrane that had covered even eyes, wings and antennae.

The new Trygve has turquoise wings and forelegs, each molt in general producing slightly more color. His abdomen was plump and his wings short and curled, but he began to sort of pump the extra fluids from his body out to his limbs and wings just like butterflies do when they emerge from their cocoons. My new macro lens just arrived this afternoon so I put it to the test (see above), but will surely have to take more photos in the daylight after I hunt down my tripod.