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Identification on strange egg sacks in wood pile

TobykeaneTobykeane Posts: 47
in Wildlife gardening
Could someone please ID these egg sacks, I’ve never seen anything like it. Found in east coast Suffolk in a wood pile. I did squeeze one and yellow goo came out so I am assuming they are still active. 


Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Where’s @wild edges?  He’s good at that sort of thing … 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I find these in my bird nest boxes after bumblebees have nested in there. Have you had any bee nests in the woodpile? I think they're wax moth caterpillars/pupae. Each tube will contain a pupating caterpillar. Every year I think I should keep some to hatch out just to verify the ID but I think I'm right.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • TobykeaneTobykeane Posts: 47
    No bees that I can see and googling wax moth pupae doesn’t seem to throw up any similar images… interesting 
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Try Googling "Aphomia sociella cocoon"



    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They look like something I had in the new hog house I made a few years ago, and I had bees nesting rather than hedgehogs. They were all around the lid, and the box was under the pine and conifer. I might have photos somewhere.
    I can't remember if I managed to ID them, but @wild edges' post sounds familiar. I vaguely remember finding something relating to the pine or conifer too. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Just had a brief look around - this is exactly what I had
    https://scotland-species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0000501126

    I'm roughly in the area in central Scotland [ where it says Glasgow] where there's just a few sightings noted. I should really send my data in!
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Apparently there are two species of wax eating moths. They don't pupae until they've eaten every trace of a bumblebee nest so unless you saw the bees earlier in the year then there won't be anything left now. In the nest boxes I just find a few dead bees to show there was a bee nest. The moths get a bad reputation among bee keepers for destroying hives but in the wild they do a great job cleaning up old nests.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • TobykeaneTobykeane Posts: 47
    Looks like a positive id! Thank you. Will update on iNaturalist - great app I’ve just started using. Think it all goes into a national database
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