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What in the larval world is this?

Posted on May 6, 2010May 6, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 6 Comments on What in the larval world is this?
Science

The following photo was taken near the Yadkin River in Davie, North Carolina. According to observers, there were millions of them attached to the sides of trees and undersides of leaves throughout the region. In some places they were hanging so thick they looked like tiny bats. Does anyone know what they are?

photo by Gregory Bonito (click to embiggen)

~Southern Fried Scientist

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6 thoughts on “What in the larval world is this?”

  1. Jason R says:
    May 6, 2010 at 8:34 pm

    Perhaps Cthulhu heard our prayers today.

  2. Southern Fried Scientist says:
    May 6, 2010 at 8:49 pm

    I believe you’re thinking of the National Day of Terror

  3. Sara says:
    May 7, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    I think they may be some sort of leaf beetle pupae?

    http://bugguide.net/node/view/164515/bgimage

    From what I’ve been able to find, willow leaf beetles are usually found around ponds or streams, and some of the larger species of leaf beetles have two white dots on each side, so it seems to fit:

    http://www.essortment.com/all/willowcottonwo_rwui.htm

    That’s the best I could come up with, anyway. 🙂

  4. Kevin Z says:
    May 7, 2010 at 11:21 pm

    I think you may be right! It has the color, shape, segmentation and what I thought looked like a pair of white balls on the side. Nice work!

  5. Sara says:
    May 8, 2010 at 9:01 am

    Thank you! 🙂

  6. Southern Fried Scientist says:
    May 9, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    I think you’re right! Nice job.

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