exuviae

On a recent pondside walk, Brand came upon various dragonfly exuviae — the outer casings of young dragonflies.

When insects molt, their exuviae contain chitin, a hard polymer that also makes up the shells of crustaceans like shrimp.

The cast skin is often called the exuviae.

The whole surface is covered with the small, round, green exuviae of these destructive invaders.

Pellicles: the exuviae or cast larval skins of many insects: in Coccidae more especially applied to the hardened larval skin attached to the puparia of Diaspinae.