One late afternoon I was sitting on the front porch gazing up at the crystal blue sky and I noticed something glistening in the live oak tree across from my driveway. I reached for the binoculars and studied this triangular shape. Then I grabbed my camera and decided to share the wonder of a Florida bagworm nest. Are they nests? I'm not certain, but it was a pretty sight with the sun reflecting off of the fine web.
All of our oak trees have these nests, and I don't mind until the little buggers begin hatching out. We have a nest of bagworms in the tree over the studio entrance as well. It freaks me out. The thought of a worm landing in my hair or on my shoulder is repulsive. This is one of spring's gifts of life. Even though this is a totally disgusting subject, I thought it made a pretty picture.
We have a lot of these silken nests and wiggly caterpillars in our cherry trees here as well. They are called tent caterpillars. Check out some info and pictures on this website http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef423.asp
I don't like their cocoons, and the moth is quite "dull," but the shear numbers of these caterpillars always astounds me!
Posted by: Debbi | March 25, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Maybe bagworm is a Tennessee thing which I carried on down to Florida. Thanks for the website.
Posted by: Merry/Nana | March 25, 2008 at 06:03 PM
It may be a beautiful picture, but the worms are gross!
Have a great vacation!
st
Posted by: popgo | March 28, 2008 at 06:26 PM