This has been on my macro "bucket list" for some time. Unfortunately, even though I knew this Nursery Web Spider was about to molt, and I kept going out to check on it, I still missed much of the event.
1. The body is already out of the old exoskeleton; just pulling out the legs.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr2. Everything's out, but it remains attached to the old shell for some time.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr3. Flexing it's "new" legs. Kinda reminds me of the Facehugger in the movie Alien.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr4. Hanging out.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr5. Bends forward, grasping the old exoskeleton, so it can disconnect.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr6. Clean break, pushes the old skin away.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr7. Resting, and letting the new exoskeleton harden.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr8. Couldn't resist this shot. A creepy mask, and a good view of the fangs.
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by ...moose..., on Flickr
