My strangest unknown observation is this >> https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/236310255 . What are yours?

I don’t label observations “unknown”, and I’m new to the site, but here’s my strangest: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/247722694 I posted two observations with this picture; the other is clearly a plant, but I don’t know what this strange stuff below the plant is.

Iron films! @jarnbrak is pretty knowledgable on these

I feel very vulnerable posting here because I feel like my Unknown might be easily recognizable to those with training, so please be kind, but this weird looking jellybean-shaped thing was on a Passiflora foetida vine. The patterning was mirrored. I brought out a green folder I had to try to get bet…

An insect predator, on the even littler white ones? Ladybird and whitefly?

[image] ItsMeLucy: weird looking jellybean-shaped thing It does look arthropod-like. Could you tell if it had beetle-like elytra or not?

No, it looked to my eyes totally smooth, which made it hard to know what to photograph. I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting teeny legs and antenna and such but I didn’t see any of that. I almost wondered if it was some sort of plant growth/tumor? It was so… odd.

Perhaps this is the “rear-view” of a hoverfly pupa (idk which side is actually the front on these)? This one has a similar pattern even.

Oh, you might be right! I see lots of hoverflies in my garden.

The strange stuff below the plant turned out to be just dead branches, not a squirrel (or any other) nest, so I deleted it. The remaining observation is https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/247722690 , which is a bacterial infection of pine branches called a witch’s broom.

I’m trying to decide between protozoan, fungus, and alien city with this one .

Your strangest "unknown" observations

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Your strangest "unknown" observations

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