The cocoon of a Log Cabin Worm.
Bagworms (Family Psychidae) are caterpillars that create portable houses to shelter in. Most of these houses resemble old socks with bits of debri glued on the outside for camouflage. However, Log Cabin Worms take things in a very different direction.
Using small twigs, these caterpillars will create a pyramid-shaped structure, by arranging these miniature logs with the longest at the bottom, and the shortest at the top. The inside is similar to other bagworm structures, being a simple silk sleeping bag with a draw-string like entrance (in this case the exposed entrance is covered in bits of chewed debri).
I don’t know how, or why these caterpillars evolved to create such strange structures. It’s truly astounding they even exist!
(To be clear, log cabin worms are not a particular species, but a rather large collection of species with intricate wooden cocoons. I took the name from Ripley’s “Believe it or Not!”)
22/10/20