There it was, suspended from the woody branch of a shrubby plant, very close to the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, some 2+ hours drive east, from Washington, DC..

It was inches from the trail. I stopped. Examined it. This is good. A clear reminder and message: The natural world has soooo much that I know little about.

I believe that it is the chrysalis of a moth, yet I had no idea what adult moth will wriggle out of it sometime soon. Friends have identified this as a Bagworm moth. What a name? ‘A bagworm walks into . . . .’

I didn’t anticipate this moment. I love searching for and finding butterflies, and I value all of the exciting finds that I make along the way, this one included.

Primitive, yet super complicated.

Jeff