naturesnippets Introduction to the wonders of nature

I’ve been redesigning my reflexology stone path recently, and have spent a lot of time sitting near the catalpa tree in my special place.

During all this, I noticed ants on two exposed roots, and going up and down the tree.

Why? What’s up there for the ants?

I started to remove the seeds from a pod so I could remove the papery covering down to the actual seed. A silky web covered what I thought at first was an egg mass.

Cropping showed they were larval cocoons. They’re like eggs only much larger.

I have a new book: Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates by Charley Eiseman and Noah Charney.

The larval cocoons were gone the next morning. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like a predator found them.

The small form on the left looked like a larva.

At least I solved the mystery of why the ants hurried up and down the catalpa tree.