#tree cattle

[northerlyy]

Tree Cattle (Cerastipsocus venosus), adults with one nymph, taken August 20, 2025, in Georgia, US

A large herd of tree cattle clustered together, fittingly, on the trunk of a tree! This was the largest group I've seen yet, with what looked like over 50 individuals. It was either a clutch with very high survivorship or two herds that combined, though I don't know what the chances of that happening are. As you can see in the image, only one nymph remains in the herd. Once it molts into an adult, the cattle will leave the safety of the herd and split up in search of a mate. I found it kind of endearing that all these adults were waiting on one nymph to molt, but no man left behind!

[onenicebugperday]

@jesterlafjord submitted: I was hoping for IDs on these friends, if possible (I suspect the grey moth is a geometer, which I know is hard to get more specific than that!). The teeny one is from San Diego, California and the other two near San Bernardino California

Suuuure the first pal is a type of bark louse collectively known as tree cattle. I don't actually know what the singular form of that would be...you can't have one cattle....perhaps it can be a tree cow. Love that. The second is definitely a geometer! One of the carpet moths in Larentiinae. I think probably a somber carpet moth, Disclisioprocta stellata. And finally the last friend is a noctuid in the genus Euxoa, likely an army cutworm moth, Euxoa auxiliaris, but could be another in the same genus, their markings have a lot of overlap. Very nice friends, thank you for sharing!

[natureatlogans]

I live in Quebec and I’ve only seen this once, but I found these lil guys walking around as a group and it honestly was the cutest and coolest thing? When they started walking somewhere in a line, one of them would sit next to the line and made sure everyone followed?

I did some rly heavy searching to find out their name goodness! They’re named barklice and the adults look really beautiful and I’m sad I haven’t seen any!! “When disturbed, Cerastipsocus venosus exhibits the fascinating behavior of moving en masse, somewhat like a flock of sheep or herd of cattle.”

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OH WOWWIE LOOK AT THOSE STRIPEY LIL FELLOWS!!! I live in Texas and I've seen the adult versions of these guys but never the immature state! I absolutely LOVE the way they stick together in a group everywhere they go! its super cool! It’s funny that you mention them moving around like a herd of cattle because here in Texas they’re quite commonly referred to as “Tree Cattle” and I just find that to be the cutest (and most bizarre) way to refer to them.

Thank you soooo much for sharing this with me! I really loved seeing this! it really brightened my day!

[enaykudisi]

Any time bugs do stuff in a group I get all gitty and amazed. Like when tree cattle run together or warrior wasps' rhythmic warning. So spectacular!