Shane wanted to run wild; I wouldn't let him. He protested at the end of the street in front of a bush.
A bush that became the focal point of the night.
Shane spotted them first. I said they looked like little pine cones and pulled one off to show him.
It was squishier than I expected.
We ended up staying near the bush longer and we noticed that some of the 'pine cones' were moving.
They weren't pine cones, at all.
The bush was full of them.
Raheem took one down and the boys raced to see if Charlie's dad knew what they were. I looked at all the other bushes on the way, but no bugs.
We had a mystery on our hands and we asked anyone who walked by. Charlie and her dad came down. We called over Emily on the way to her car. I asked a couple walking a dog if either happened to be entomologists.
They weren't. No one knew.
I used the Google when we got home. It turns out the bush was infested with evergreen bag worms.
Case closed!
Full disclosure: I really wanted to drag Shane home right before the discovery. After the initial wonder passed, I was ready to go again. Carrie was cooking, it was hot, and I was tired. However, we made new discoveries and drew more people in. I wanted to go in a couple of more times, but we went with the flow instead. Forty minutes later we ate dinner. Shane described the worms in detail to Carrie while I researched.
The situation started grumpy, but ended up a great. It's good things don't always go my way right away. God made an incredible planet. I love learning new things about it.
PS - The picture of the bag worm and the hand are from Google. My pictures weren't as clear.
PPS - Dinner was great. Carrie can cook!
You and Shane can be super heroes and go save that poor tree! Pick them off and put them in a bag to throw away before they brutally devour that innocent tree. This is what your link about the evergreen bag worms says:
ReplyDelete"The bagworm has a voracious appetite and is considered a serious pest. Host trees develop damaged foliage that will kill the tree if left unchecked. If caught early enough in an infestation, the cases from the previous year can be picked off by hand before the end of May. They are easiest to detect in the fall after their cases have turned brown, especially on evergreen trees. Various bacterial sprays such as Bt/Spinosad and stomach insecticides such as carbaryl (Sevin) are used to control infestations." So be great hunters and save that tree!