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Saturday 7 July 2012

Clever Bagworms


I saw these delicate constructs hanging on a small tree recently. 




 

At first, I thought they might be pupas of a moth/butterfly.









Suddenly, one of them started moving around and then I realized there was a caterpillar inside each case. 

   







Actually, these Christmas ornament-like structures are the “houses” of the Bagworm, larva of the moth family Psychidae, which is named for the baglike cases it builds.  

Each Bagworm lives inside a case and only sticks its head out to feed on leaves.









In order to have access to plenty of food, all of their “houses” are mobile which move around with the houseowner.   

To ensure natural camouflage from predators, the building materials are all from the habitat, from dead leaves to small twigs.  











However, life at the bottom of the food chain can be very tough. It didn’t take long for this spider to find its meal inside this Bagworm’s house.





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18 comments:

Irene said...

Amazing shots, and very interesting to read about this insect.

Irene

Tina´s PicStory said...

great pics! :)

Bob Bushell said...

Wowee, I have not seen one before, gorgeous insects.

TexWisGirl said...

that's amazing! camouflage was great, but didn't fool the spider after all!

Helma said...

Hello Friend of HK,

I'm really amazed with these photographs viewed. I really did not think there are such creatures existed. At first I thought the leaves were Dorro but it really bugs! Very special.

Greetings, Helma

Carole M. said...

they're here also; amazing mobile homes aren't they?!

eileeninmd said...

They are amazing caterpillars. But I feel sorry for the plants that are having their leaves eaten. Great shots.

john said...

Great post, like always. I recently stumbled across a blog called, John's Hong Kong Blog. It's about birding. John said he reads your blog. Have you seen his blog?

Ola said...

wow, absolutely amazing!

życie & podróże
gotowanie

Friend of HK said...

To John: Thanks for the info. I do read and follow John's Hong Kong Birding blog. He is a very active birder in HK.

Irma said...

Amazing shots!!
Greetings Irma

Claudia said...

An impressive reportage, lovely pictures!

Magia da Inês said...

♡♡♡
Estranho inseto... parece com pedacinhos de madeira misturados no barro.
Boa semana!
Beijinhos do Brasil.
♡♡♡

Giga said...

Wygląda to niesamowicie. Gąsienice są sprytne, chociaż nie do końca. Pająk sobie dał radę. Wspaniałe i ciekawe zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam.
It looks amazing. Tracks are smart, but not quite. The spider gave the advice. Great and interesting photos. Yours.

Anonymous said...

Achei seu blog na blogosfera.
E adoreii!

Já estou te seguindo..
Me visite tbm
http://lidiepaulo.blogspot.com.br

Beijocas
Ótima Noite \º/

Giancarlo said...

Fotografie fantastiche, brava!! buon fine settimana...ciao

Magia da Inês said...

¸❤✿•.¸
♥ Bom fim de semana!
♡ Beijinhos.
Brasil

Sylwia Grabinska said...

Yours insects are very, very interesting :)

hugs