molt

He was in molt, a sketchy splotch of red and black while he waited for his new plumage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

This isn’t just teenage dramatics: Elephant seals don’t hunt or eat as they molt, so he’s hungry and tired and will sleep wherever he damn pleases.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

And crabs need that deep substrate to safely molt, or they risk being eaten by a hungry tankmate.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025

“But that seriously set back the bird’s rehabilitation because now it has to go through a complete molt to be able to grow those feathers back.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2025

“The locusts are in bloom, so that means the crabs is havin’ their first molt.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

The final step in the metamorphosis, if all goes well: The case splits open, and the winged creature molts, ready to take its first flight in pursuit of prey, leaving the exuviae behind.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 11, 2022

A few days, a few molts, and a few milkweed leaves later, the caterpillar was about a half-inch long and fattening up, following a timetable nearly as reliable as a Swiss watch.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 20, 2019

The young caterpillars go through five series of molts and instars over a period of 10 to 14 days before forming their chrysalis and transforming within it for seven to 10 days.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2017

Embryonic development is external and proceeds through larval stages separated by molts.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013

As it gets bigger it molts several times, splitting the old skin with its head and wriggling out, revealing stretchy skin underneath.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Pinky’s fame grew even as the bird bent, molted and faded with each turn of the calendar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

“The lobster has molted into its final form,” Steinberger wrote in a blog post about the name change—a nod at his platform’s lobster-centric branding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

The only drawback is that smoked shrimp can be harder to peel — particularly thinner-shelled shrimp that have recently molted.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2023

After thriving for 70 million years or more, enantiornithines may have suddenly become vulnerable in the cold weather after the asteroid when they molted all their feathers at once.

From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2023

She thought it was like the desert threave, a sand beast that could survive for years eating nothing but its own molted skin.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

They hoped to disrupt the molting process of cicada nymphs, which need to shed their outer layer to emerge as adults.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Over time, they wear out and are replaced in a process known as molting.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2026

Filming took place between October and January, to avoid molting season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025

Versatile and resilient, the lobster survives by molting, shedding its skin and growing into a new, bigger shell.

From New York Times ● May 20, 2024

In the cart sat a hideous blackbird, big as a man, shaped like a man, with head hung forward like a molting crow.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes