“Unboxing” a mystery cocoon
On a recent walk at Mass Audubon’s Tidmarsh Sanctuary, I noticed something out of the ordinary attached to the stem of a shrub a little ways off the trail. It sort of resembled a brown dried leaf, but there was something just different enough about it that it caught my attention. Closer inspection revealed that it was a cocoon of some sort. I immediately had two conflicting thoughts: 1) I want to cut it open so I can see what’s…