One of the guys brought this to me at the office this morning. Any idea who uses a nest like this?
Whose nest is this??
Hummingbirds sometimes build nests like that. Is it tiny?
I was afraid of that...the LOA is about 2.5 inches, the nest, from opening to bottom, is about 1.75 inches.
Edited to say:
The opening is only about .5 inch wide and the body of the 'nest' is about 1 inch wide. I went looking at hummer nests and the ones I saw don't have the narrower opening. This is made of what feels like coarse cloth, very fibrous and you can see that whole leaves are built into it. I'll try to get a picture that shows this
This message was edited Wednesday, Jan 8th 3:08 PM
That's not a hummer nest. You found the cocoon of a giant silkmoth. Just try to tear it apart--they're almost impossible. I find those all over my yard in the leaf litter. Empty, of course.
After a little further looking, I think it is most likely a Promethea or Sweetbay silkmoth. Here are some links to their descriptions.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/moths/fl/964.htm
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/moths/fl/965.htm
Both indicate they spin cocoons on the ends of twigs and some wrap leaves around the cocoons to camoflauge them.
Hmm, when I think of a caterpillar, that is the image I have in my head. (besides the P. toyus)
This message was edited Thursday, Jan 9th 10:46 PM
Thanks so much Mandy!! I hoped you'd know what it was. It's beautiful...I'd love to see one. Do you see these moths since you have them around your property?
Post a Reply to this Thread
More Wildlife Threads
-
Want some bees this summer?
started by guerillahoney
last post by guerillahoneyMay 08, 20240May 08, 2024