not that great

“Left my cat alone with a camera for 30 minutes and now I can never leave again.” 

- you join a zoom call. everyone’s mic is muted, but no one is talking anyway. you stare at the squares with faces in them. which is your face? you can’t be sure.

- the news is full of numbers. you try to learn what they mean, but the articles are full of jargon from fields you have no experience in, and you swear the numbers change when you blink. 

- you wake up. you sleep. you wake up. you sleep. how many days was that? you have no idea.

- you go for a walk. a shadow follows you down the street, moving when you move, stopping when you stop. always the recommended six feet away.

- every day you get several emails from corporations you’ve never heard of. each company name sounds fake, too vague, too optimistic. “Stay healthy! :)” they say. “We’re committed to keeping you safe! You must stay healthy! We love you very much! We learned everything about you so we can keep you safe! Please believe us we love you so much we’ r e  , s 0Rry:):)):))”  You try to unsubscribe, but the link just takes you to a blank black webpage. Suddenly, you can make out your reflection in the screen. What’s that over your shoulder?

oh i love bagworms ! the structures they make are so incredibly diverse and intricate.. and definitely not just twigs! since their protective casings are based entirely on whats around them you can see all kinds of designs, and different species stick to different patterns and shapes

theyve got a really interesting life cycle, too - what youre seeing is a case made by the caterpillar of the bagworm moth, and inside of each case is where the caterpillar lives ( heres a picture of them outside of their little nest) 

they start out as little worm only a few millimetres long and immediately start spinning silk around themselves, attaching any materials nearby to camouflage their bodies. they spend a big chunk of this stage meandering around their host plant, poking their heads out of their homes to eat ( although not all of them are herbivores! )

their home grows as they do, and eventually after theyve reached maximum size, the caterpillar affixes the top of their home to a branch or similar roost. they seal off the entrance and pupate....

and either emerge and winged male, who exists only to find a females case and help the cycle continue, or a female, who stays with her case and waits to be found! not all females are wingless though ( this new zealand one is especially pretty ) 

 since theyre so iconic in japan, they show up as inspiration for creatures in a LOT of different places.....like all these guys !!! all bagworms !!