Researchers to an expedition to the rainforest in the Southern Peruvian Amazon have spotted, what appears to be a mysterious new cocoon. The cocoon is unlike anything biologists have seen upon before, strongly suggesting a hitherto undiscovered new species.
The exotic cocoon features a central spire, like a maypole, encircled by a picket fence that's been reinforced by horizontal rails. The entire structure – tent and fence – is strung together by a series of radially oriented wires. Resembling Harold "Doc" Edgerton’s famous milk drop, the structure measures less than 2 cm across.
Whatever is hatching, appears to be located inside the tent and fence is there to protect the cocoon from predatory crawlers, such as ants.
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