Friday, March 25, 2011

Friday Field Photo - what is it??

We spent the day down by Gateway, Colorado, prospecting and looking at various tracks in the Chinle and Wingate Formations. While looking at a huge track slab I happened to see something weird hanging from a tree branch. I took these two photo of it (horrible lighting, apologies). Unfortunately we forgot the good camera at home, the ok camera at the hotel, and were only left with my cell phone, so that is what I used. Since it was so cool and not something I had ever seen, I thought I would share it and see if anyone else could guess what it is.



Any guesses?!?!? :-)
[edit: check out the comments...]

© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster

15 comments:

Lockwood said...

It looks like it might be a bee hive in the early stages of construction?

BJ Nicholls said...

I don't know but it's cool. My guesses would be an unusual wasp nest or the nest of a bird that secretes urethane foam.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

There were no bees to be seen. I think it may have been a paper wasp(?) nest that has decayed over the winter, leaving the comb behind.(?)

Pretty crazy!! We were at this same site in July and I walked right under that tree and do not remember seeing a thing. I am allergic to bees so I usually notice them. I had never seen something like this so I had to share it :)

(check out the pictures on this site: http://www.azwns.com/Bee_removal_control_phoenix_az.htm and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Honeycomb_on_tree.jpg)

Elizabeth said...

I think I'd go for either an aborted bee hive or some form of shelf fungus... but it really does look like a hive that was started, and then abandoned... An open tree isn't the best spot after all.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

I just checked my pictures from this summer to see if it was in the pictures, but you can not tell. The trees were pretty leafy.

Stu Pond said...

I'll plumb for wasp's nest.

taichara said...

I'm going for bee hive. Fairly certain I've seen other similar images of hives ...

.. now I'm going to wind up looking around for them *grin*

Neil said...

Definitely an abandoned honeybee hive, can't think of any other North American hymenoptera that would make a nest like that.

James Robins said...

In England we'd call it a Bracket Fungus. Sorry no Latin here...

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

Thanks for all the comments! Glad everyone seems to have thought the picture was a neat as I did.

Dicing with Dragons said...

That is darn weird. Beehive, but that's just a guess on my part.

Weird. And therefore cool.

Donald Prothero said...

I think it's a bracket fungus, too. Look it up--they have that same structure, grow suddenly from the side of a branch or trunk, and can form a LOT of shapes.

Anonymous said...

Nah...!

You all have it wrong, a camper down that way just didn't like his omelet and decided to dispose of it in a tree so his wife, who cooked it, wouldn't notice. :)


Paul W.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

LOL Paul