.錢昕-生命中的逗號  (The Pause in Life)

花鳳蝶幼蟲蛻皮時卸下的頭殼是幼蟲成長的紀錄。每蛻一次頭殼，頭就長大一次，頭蛻不會被「回收」食用，留下作為成長的見證。幼蟲蛻皮前約有一天時間不吃不動，等待新的外骨骼形成。這期間頭殼會先分離，但仍留在位置上。蛻皮時身體有規律地收縮，將舊皮推向尾端。牠們共蛻皮5次，最後一次是化蛹。蛻皮是為了繼續成長必經的停頓，是生命中的逗號，各期的頭殼連結為成長的軌跡。

---

During the molting process, the larvae of the Papilio demoleus butterfly will leave head capsules as evidence of growth. Once the larva molts, its head becomes a little bigger and the head capsule is discarded without being consumed. In waiting for the development of its exoskeleton, the larva will become motionless and fast for a whole day. During this period of time, the head capsule will loosen but remain intact.  Through regular contractions, the capsule is pushed downwards. The larva molts 5 times before pupation. Molting is the pause needed for the continuation of their growth and the remnant of head capsules indicates their path of development.

國立自然科學博物館版權所有　 Copyright© 2015 National Museum of Natural Science. All rights reserved.
• 地址：40453臺中市北區館前路一號　• 電話：(04)23226940　• 最佳瀏覽：1024*768, IE 7.0以上, Firefox