Curious Bush Finds

The bushveld can sure be a fascinating place sometimes, and I often come across some curious things while out walking on the farm. Today I found these beetle "cocoons" growing in a nearby vaalbos plant, and what makes them so interesting is the fact that, rather than a beetle carving a hollow into wood large enough for her larvae to grow to maturity before laying her eggs, this specific type of beetle simply lays her eggs in the vaalbos tree and i the greater design of nature the fast growing branches of the tree then grows around the eggs forming a wooden cocoon that allows the larvae to hatch and grow until it is old enough to eat its way out of the wood in order to complete its life cycle.

For the life of me I can not remember these little creatures names, and I came up empty when I was trying to look them up, but I have sent a message to an entomologist friend of mine and I am hoping that he will respond soon.