BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 77
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James Von Loh provided these photos of Bagworm Moth,
Family Psychidae, cocoons. BugGuide notes that ÒLarvae
(bagworms) construct spindle-shaped bags covered with
pieces of twigs, leaves, etc., and remain in them -- enlarging
the bags as they grow -- until they pupate (also in the bag).
Adult females remain in the bag, emitting pheromones
which attract adult males to mate with them. Eggs are laid
inside the bag, and when they hatch the larvae crawl away
to begin construction of their own individual cases. Some
bagworm species are parthenogenetic; their eggs hatch
without being fertilized.Ó
12. This Polistes aurifer (Saussure, 1853), Golden Paper
Wasp nest (and wasps) was photographed by James Von
Loh on 12 August 2022.
13. Quercus (like this GambelÕs Oak, Quercus gambelii
[Nutt.]) often have galls. On oaks these galls are
sometimes called oak apples. A gall is a special type of
insect construction. The gall is formed by the oak in
reaction to a stimulus from an insect, often a wasp of
some species. When a wasp, for instance, lays an egg in
the plant, the plant ÒbuildsÓ a structure (the gall) around
the egg and future larva. The insect subcontracts the
construction of the gall out to the plant, with very
precise instructions. (Although the most common cause
of a gall, insects are not the only cause.) The gall is plant
material and as such generally will look like the rest of
the green vegetation. Once the insect departs the gall,
9. On a Coyote Willow branch along the Rio Grande on
28 September 2019.
10. On 23 September 2019.
11. On an Arrow Weed shrub, 12 September 2025.
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