# What insect made this, and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223 "2013-09-07T01:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/21 "2013-09-08T19:59:33Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Hell, if Bill Eberhard and Jonathan Coddington (two of my colleagues quoted in the article who are spider and insect experts) can’t figure it out, all I can say is WTF too. I’ve been in the general vicinity of where the things were found in the Peruvian Amazon, and have never seen anything like it. > > The fact that the first one was found on a tarp pretty much precludes it being a fungal structure or outgrowth from the tree bark. It has to have been made by a mobile organism. None of this tells me what bug did it. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/22 "2013-09-08T22:06:55Z")
I wonder if they took one as a sample and cut the cone part open? It might provide some clues. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/23 "2013-09-08T23:11:09Z")
My vote is for a spider… with a mental issue. Possibly from a fungus or a parasite. It follows the basic structure of a web, but the change from two to three dimensions is there. The spider is doing what it naturally thinks it should do, but in the wrong dimensions. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/24 "2013-09-08T23:56:48Z")
Hey, **Colibri** , you’re a lot more likely to hear about an answer to this (if one is found) than any of us. Bump this thread when you do, will you? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/25 "2013-09-09T01:38:39Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Are all the pointy tips pointing at the same direction in space? If its on the underside of a tarp, its pointing down to what is beneath it. Say, if they set up very powerful microphones near it, [I wonder what they’d hear?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpsEqINeMS4) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/26 "2013-09-09T02:38:38Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I think we need to crowd source enough donations to send Colibri there to find out and report back. > > Housing is all ready! [Tambopata\_Research\_Center](http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g488184-d318584-r147557290-Tambopata_Research_Center-Tambopata_National_Reserve_Madre_de_Dios_Region.html) > > What’s a travel package cost? I’d love to get back to southeastern Peru. I’ve never been to Tambopata, but a couple years ago I was in Manu National Park, and in the late 1990s I worked on a biodiversity inventory on the Camisea River on the lower Urubamba. > [@Morgyn](#): > > Hey, **Colibri** , you’re a lot more likely to hear about an answer to this (if one is found) than any of us. Bump this thread when you do, will you? Sure. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/27 "2013-09-09T03:48:26Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > My vote is for a spider… with a mental issue. Possibly from a fungus or a parasite. It follows the basic structure of a web, but the change from two to three dimensions is there. The spider is doing what it naturally thinks it should do, but in the wrong dimensions. This makes a lot of sense to me. I am going to assume it’s this until I hear otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/28 "2013-09-09T03:49:06Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > My vote is for a spider… with a mental issue. Possibly from a fungus or a parasite. It follows the basic structure of a web, but the change from two to three dimensions is there. The spider is doing what it naturally thinks it should do, but in the wrong dimensions. That’s very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/29 "2013-09-09T04:58:52Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > It looks like a high-powered transmitter, surrounded by a protective fence. I am guessing an insectoid alien species from outerspace set it up to guide the swarm earthward. Nah. The nanobots are building a [wind farm](http://www.panoramio.com/photo/88236758) to power themselves, but those pesky humans keep interrupting them before they can install the blades. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/30 "2013-09-09T05:54:08Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > My vote is for a spider… with a mental issue. Possibly from a fungus or a parasite. It follows the basic structure of a web, but the change from two to three dimensions is there. The spider is doing what it naturally thinks it should do, but in the wrong dimensions. Maybe the spiders have made an evolutionary jump? Is this the first spider that can think (and weave) in 3 dimensions? Maybe there are really badass flies that just arent fooled anymore by simple 2-D designs. Quote appropriate this happened in the Amazon (or is it Timbuktu?) where spiders have been evolving unspoilt by human hands for jillions of years. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/31 "2013-09-09T06:16:11Z")
I’m with **Morgyn**. Why haven’t they cut one open? They’ve found three, right? Pick one to examine. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/32 "2013-09-09T06:23:28Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > It looks like a high-powered transmitter, surrounded by a protective fence. I am guessing an insectoid alien species from outerspace set it up to guide the swarm earthward. > > Are all the pointy tips pointing at the same direction in space? WIN. My total WAG: the cone-thing is an egg-sack, the tower is for the spiderlings to climb so they can balloon away safely over the fence, and the fence is to protect the egg sack from predation / insect miscreants until the eggs hatch. ETA: I love that the scientists took the time and effort to take some pretty artsy photos of these things. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/33 "2013-09-09T06:49:05Z")
Does the sun align with it at the Summer Solstice? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/34 "2013-09-09T07:45:23Z")
I was sure I’d heard of this before - that some insect makes a fence around its cocoon to protect the pupa from ants (or it might have been a spider protecting its egg sac for the same reason). I don’t believe I’d seen pictures, just a written description, but years ago. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/35 "2013-09-09T08:58:43Z")
I’m wondering if this is the remnant of a larger structure? Like, the “fence” is the base of a basket, and the “tower” was the attachment stalk for something like a pod inside the basket. The main structure is gone, and only the remnants remain: ```auto ________________________________________________ [] \ / [] [] || [] [] || [] [] || [] <---------------cut here [] ( ) [] [] ~~ [] \ / ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ``` ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/36 "2013-09-09T15:48:53Z")
I’m not entirely unconvinced that the whole thing is a hoax. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/37 "2013-09-10T00:44:36Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > My vote is for a spider… with a mental issue. Possibly from a fungus or a parasite. It follows the basic structure of a web, but the change from two to three dimensions is there. The spider is doing what it naturally thinks it should do, but in the wrong dimensions. I think this is what you are referring to. This get’s my vote as well. [http://www.damninteresting.com/mind-controlling-wasps-and-zombie-spiders/](http://www.damninteresting.com/mind-controlling-wasps-and-zombie-spiders/) ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/38 "2013-09-10T02:20:13Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > It looks like a high-powered transmitter, surrounded by a protective fence. I am guessing an insectoid alien species from outerspace set it up to guide the swarm earthward. > > Are all the pointy tips pointing at the same direction in space? LOL, I came in to say that I too think it looks like a transmitter-thingie; but I think it’s aimed at us… they’re getting ready to tell us, _"Leave us the #%&_%!!! alone!\* Either that, or it’s a transmission tower for the H.A.A.R.P. — you know, the Hive And Anthill Recreational Programming network. Bug Cable. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/39 "2013-09-10T02:38:17Z")
Sauron is rebuilding Barad Dur. Tolkien had the scale wrong all along. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223/40 "2013-09-10T09:19:05Z")
Closer to Isengard than Barad-Dur [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-insect-made-this-and-why/668223.md?page=3)