Out walking on a crisp, wintry day, I found this case in a cleft in the bark of a local oak (a loakal?). Ican't claim to be too certain on what it is other than an empty pupae case - possibly from a moth? It is beautifully articulated, with striped segments not dissimilar to a wasp. It was attached to the tree with some silk, but the way it was wedged in to its deep crevice meant that it would have stayed without it. Its placement provided fantastic protection, which once it was empty was exploited by a little spider that scuttled out after I inadvertently dislodged it.
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mmmm, it looks a bit like a little owl pellet ? There was a pellet on a bee hive the other week that I couldn't identify and decided it might be a crow or gull but the contents were a little generic, but clearly included fur. If it is indeed a pupae then you could perhaps email a picture to the Nat Hist museum entomology dept, if searching online can't find the answer. Some of the goat moths etc pupate inside old tree crevices but I don't think their pupae look like this? Let me know if you find out. D
ReplyDeleteI now think possibly a 'puss moth' - see post above. D
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