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!).

Hairy Hideaway

Reader Tammis Coffin sent in this photo of a somewhat hairy thing tucked into the crevice of a beech tree in western Massachusetts. What is it?

Answer

This is the empty shell of a gypsy moth pupa. As anyone familiar with gypsy moth caterpillars (larvae) knows, they’re quite hairy, and the hairs at the bottom of this pupa case are likely from bits of the larval exoskeleton that got packed down into the bottom of the cocoon.

This week’s contest winner was Laura J. Baxley