Bagworm moth caterpillars build their cocoons out of sand, dirt, and plant material. They look even more amazing than they sound, like something out of a Studio Ghibli film — the cocoons the bagworms build look so improbable that there is a Snopes page dedicated to them.
The bagworms stay in their little homes throughout the larval stage, expanding them as they grow by adding more material. They are mobile until the pupal stage when they affix the cocoon to a surface like a branch or a fence. Because their cocoons are constructed of plant material, they serve as excellent camouflage from predators.
The over 1300 species of bagworm moths are considered mostly harmless, but in some areas, they are troublesome pests, damaging trees in Florida orange groves and acacia trees in South Africa.
Previously:
• Expressive, hand-painted animation about a moth's life cycle
• An ode to moths and their breathtaking biophysics
• Procedurally-generated moths are wonderfully haunting, plausible
• Why are moths drawn to lamps?
• Spectacular slow motion video of moths in flight
