For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Another Bagworm species

Andrea was correct by saying it was the larvae of something. :) Congrats my friend!! I would expect you to know the answer to this one. :)

I was sitting by the swimming pool reading my book when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something moving.
Naturally, I assumed that it was some feathers etc which the wind had blown and went back to reading.
Then I noticed that it was moving at a much steadier pace than if blown by the wind, I grabbed my camera and crawled on the ground to have a close look.
Much to my surprise I saw this caterpillar head and body come out of the front. What a perfect disguise it has. Bagworms will collect all sorts of things to build their homes out of but I thought the feathers a nice touch. :)

32 comments:

Diane said...

Wonderful photography but what a strange creature:-) Diane

Life in Egypt said...

told you it was a regergitated chicken. not my fault the bagworm was in the middle of it.

Philip said...

Never heard of a Bagworm were is it's head :)??

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

It sure is Diane. They will use anything they can find and stick it to their body in order to disguise themselves.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thats the reason I do not eat chicken Tony, it has woms in the missle of it. :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

The worm is the brown piece sticking out Philip. I think you can see it clearest in the bottom picture - its front legs and head show up nice there if you compare it to yesterdays post.

Claudia said...

Beautiful macro! Well done.

MadSnapper said...

amazing! i have never seen or heard of one. your blog is an education to me. he is so ugly he's cute, or she

Gaelyn said...

So I guess I was partly right when I said something dead. Fooled us again.

Andrea said...

Thank you,Joan.
It's common in Europe to see something similar,but the insect use only small wood pieces or pine leaves.
Don't ask me the name:I don't remember it at all...

Birdy Official said...

Thanks Joan for the information. For me it was almost impossible to tell, what is it? this is really an interesting species of bag worm. I include it in my search list.

A human kind of human said...

Thank Joan, this is quite amazing. I thought it looked quite beautiful. Would you mind if I use the original photos on my Afrikaans blog and send them to your blog for the answer?

Craver Vii said...

Wow, that was a tricky one!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Claudia. :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Sandra. I am pleased this is of interest to you.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

What I wonder is how they get all that stacked up on their backs Gaelyn? :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

They usually use sticks here too Andrea, even thorns so this one was very unusual for me. Also, even though I find the bagworms, I do not usually see the worm itseld as they retract when you come near.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

You are welcome Birdy. I am sure you have them there too.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Go right ahead Anne. I dont mind at all. I will e-mail it to you.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Craver. These insects are amazing. :)

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

I can't think that I have ever seen, or even heard, of this one. I'm gonna have to learn to keep my eyes opne more.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

They are not easy to spot Jonker and then usually the caterpillar goes back into its hide-away as soon as you come near and photographing them is not easy. They are quite small too about 5mm.

Wendy said...

Holy cow, I would've NEVER guessed! I can't believe you spotted that, I had to look very carefully to finally see that caterpillar head, unreal how the insect world works! I'm blown away :) Awesome pictures, thanks for sharing this with us Joan :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Wendy. Now you can see why this world of bugs fascinates me so. :)

Unknown said...

This is amazing but it seems to have been taken from a horror movie! Lol!

Mary said...

I'm glad to know what it is. How very odd!

sandy said...

And just think, if you weren't paying attention, you would have missed this! And we wouldn't have gotten to see it. Great photos.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! You are right Jose. If it had not been moving at such a steady pace I would have missed it. :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! It sure is Mary. This insect world is fascinating. :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! Not much passes me by Sandy. I have trained myself to pick up the slightest thing out of the ordinary and this sure fits that description. :)

Becky said...

Very, very odd looking creature, and I never would have guessed what it was. Great catch.
B.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

You are so right Becky. Who would ever have thought that there is something under that pile of junk. :)