What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Cobweb Conundrum

What are the thin, oval disks caught in the cobweb above the cavity of this sugar maple tree?

Answer

Those are cutouts from sugar maple leaves created by maple leafcutter caterpillars. The caterpillars use these disks, glued together, as a mobile home as they move around the leaf in late summer, feeding on other portions of the leaf. At least in some parts of Vermont, maple leafcutter populations were very high this year. Read more about maple leaf cutters here.

This week’s contest winner was Lindsay Putnam