Insect nest?

ecampbell

Piney
Jan 2, 2003
2,840
958
I found this in a high bush blueberry bush yesterday at Friendship. Anyone have an idea what might have made it? Yes, it has a hole in it. It's a couple of inches long.

P1020575s.jpg


P1020586s.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: glowordz

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,552
2,465
59
millville nj
www.youtube.com
Looks like a praying mantis cocoon to me.I brought one home once not knowing what it was and laid it on my dresser.About a week later me and Momma woke up and there were about 200 little quarter inch long mantises all over the bedroom.Most of them on the screen trying to get outside.Momma flipped,she thought they were little green spiders till i pointed out they were minature mantises.She doesn't fear mantises.Did this thing feel hard? It may have been papery since it has to have been on the tree for about eight or nine months now but when in use they are very hard and spongy almost like pork rinds.
 
  • Like
Reactions: glowordz

glowordz

Explorer
Jan 19, 2009
585
8
SC
www.gloriarepp.com
I wondered about that, but I always thought they had a more precisely defined shape. I guess I'm wrong, judging from this photo. Praying mantis is one insect I really like!
 

Attachments

  • mantis2.jpg
    mantis2.jpg
    5.4 KB · Views: 310

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,552
2,465
59
millville nj
www.youtube.com
Glo
It may not be a mantis egg case (cocoon is really not the right word since a butterfly is not coming from it) but it looks like an old ragged now out of shape egg case to me.They are usually fresh in the spring if i remember right.It seemed to be spring when i found a field full of them.The field was coming back with a lot of staghorn sumac and there were mantis cases attached to all the young sumac.I only took one thank God.
 
  • Like
Reactions: glowordz

ecampbell

Piney
Jan 2, 2003
2,840
958
It's not a mantis cocoon, I am familiar with them. Mantis excrete their cocoon and eggs. This is larger and apears to be a folded leaf.
 

Gibby

Piney
Apr 4, 2011
1,640
442
Trenton
It is probably a cocoon from one of the larger moths with eye spots. I noticed butterfly cocoons tend to hang from a "pod" with a single attachment point while big moths wrap themselves and "lean" against a branch.

Ecampbell, you can always put the cocoon in a mason jar and see what comes out like we use to do when we were kids. (I still do this and still get questioned to why I do it. :))
 
Top