AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -arthropods. …in arthropods by molting, or ecdysis, the periodic shedding of the old exoskeleton. The underlying cells release enzymes that digest the base of the old exoskeleton (much of the endocuticle) and then secrete a new exoskeleton beneath the old one.

Detailed explanation-2: -In arthropods, such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans, moulting is the shedding of the exoskeleton (which is often called its shell), typically to let the organism grow. This process is called ecdysis.

Detailed explanation-3: -One of the general characteristics that defines the phylum Arthropoda (which includes insects, spiders, and crustaceans) is an external skeleton, also called an exoskeleton . The arthropod exoskeleton completely covers the outside of the body and the muscles inside adhere to it.

Detailed explanation-4: -Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticle in many invertebrates of the clade Ecdysozoa. Since the cuticle of these animals typically forms a largely inelastic exoskeleton, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The remnants of the old, empty exoskeleton are called exuviae.

Detailed explanation-5: -Molting is the shedding of the exoskeleton (cuticle) of the previous life stage. Without molting, an insect cannot grow. Once a new cuticle is fully formed, an insect engages in species-specific stereotyped patterns of movements (molting behaviors) that liberate it from the cuticle of the previous stage.