Alien Invertibrate? Snails with wooden shells?
 

Anyone have any idea what this is;

http://www.io.com/~lawrence/snail2.jpg

(scanner-eye view)

I was walking along when I noticed about a dozen of them creeping across
a sidewalk. They almost seem like some sort of snail with a wooden
shell, but the shell actually feels somewhat soft and organic.

It looks a little like the Doomsday machine from the original Star Trek,
though I'm pretty sure it didn't have a snail head...

Alien Invertibrate? Snails with wooden shells?
 

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 18:41:51 -0500, Lawrence Person
wrote:

Anyone have any idea what this is

Well, could it be a puss moth caterpillar? It is a little early for
them, though.

Rusty Mase


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Alien Invertibrate? Snails with wooden shells?
 

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 20:00:02 -0500, Rusty Mase
wrote:

Well, could it be a puss moth caterpillar?

OK, I get two tries. A caterpillar that covers itself with cedar
leaves attached to a bag. There must a more official name for these.
They are very common in and around my cedar trees.

Rusty Mase


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Alien Invertibrate? Snails with wooden shells?
 

In article ,
Lawrence Person wrote:

Anyone have any idea what this is;

http://www.io.com/~lawrence/snail2.jpg

(scanner-eye view)

I was walking along when I noticed about a dozen of them creeping across
a sidewalk. They almost seem like some sort of snail with a wooden
shell, but the shell actually feels somewhat soft and organic.


i think i had a few of these. in my bug book, the closest
thing i could find was a "bagworm."

marty.

________________________________________

Making the World a Noisier Place

Alien Invertibrate? Snails with wooden shells?
 

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 0:10:34 -0500, marty lester wrote
(in message ) :

In article ,
Lawrence Person wrote:

Anyone have any idea what this is;

http://www.io.com/~lawrence/snail2.jpg

(scanner-eye view)

I was walking along when I noticed about a dozen of them creeping across
a sidewalk. They almost seem like some sort of snail with a wooden
shell, but the shell actually feels somewhat soft and organic.


i think i had a few of these. in my bug book, the closest
thing i could find was a "bagworm."

marty.

________________________________________

Making the World a Noisier Place


I agree it looks like a bagworm. I haven't seen these since I was a kid in
Dallas. It is a lepidopteran and lives most of its larval stage in the bag.
I have only seen these firmly attached to trees. Didn't know they wandered
around in the bag.

From: http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en...s/bagworm.html

Identification
Larvae enclosed in cone-shaped bags consume foliage. Insect seldom seen,
except head of larva protruding from the bag. The larva is mottled brown to
black and encloses itself in a bag spun from silkstrands. Bits of leaves
and twigs from the host are incorporated in the bag during its creation.
During June bags are difficult to see, since they start less than 1/4" in
length. Bags increase to 1 1/2" by late summer. Adult males fly and are the
only form occurring outside the bags. Females develop inside the pupal case
within the bag where the eggs are laid.

Life History
Overwintering eggs begin hatching in early June. The tiny larva immediately
begins to construct a tiny silken bag around itself and initiates feeding.
Larvae and bags remain small (less than 1/4" long) for a few weeks and are
not easily discovered. Feeding and molting continues until August when
pupation occurs. Adults are active in late August and September. Only males
leave the bag to mate with females which remain in the bags to lay
overwintering eggs. Prior to molting and pupation, larvae attach the bag by
silk strands to twigs and close the opening, protecting the larva.

--
Bill Tschumy
Otherwise -- Austin, TX
http://www.otherwise.com