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:
It looks like it might be a bee hive in the early stages of construction?
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.
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)
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.
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.
I'll plumb for wasp's nest.
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*
Definitely an abandoned honeybee hive, can't think of any other North American hymenoptera that would make a nest like that.
In England we'd call it a Bracket Fungus. Sorry no Latin here...
Thanks for all the comments! Glad everyone seems to have thought the picture was a neat as I did.
That is darn weird. Beehive, but that's just a guess on my part.
Weird. And therefore cool.
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.
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.
LOL Paul
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