shed skin; exuviae; ecdysis
Refers to the cast-off skin of snakes, insects, etc. Most commonly encountered in the idiomatic expression もぬけの殻 (empty shell, deserted state).
A snake's shed skin was caught on the tree branch.
When I got home, the place was deserted (like an empty shell).
抜け殻 also means shed skin or empty shell, but is more common in everyday language. もぬけ is largely restricted to the set phrase もぬけの殻.
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms are rare and mostly encountered in the fixed expression 蛻の殻.
Kanji form used in the set phrase 蛻の殻 (もぬけのから). Rarely used independently.
Ateji spelling; not recommended for learners.
Rare kanji spelling; not recommended for learners.
Variant kanji form with okurigana; also seen in 蛻けの殻.
The derivation is uncertain. The kanji 蛻 specifically means 'insect/snake molt', and the word is now mostly fossilized in the phrase もぬけの殻.