ecdysis

thumb|Adult Rhopalomyia solidaginis fly, emerging from pupal case thumb|right|Process of ecdysis of a cicada.

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.