Spiral of life

by Kimberly on December 26, 2007

in Holidailies,Musings

I have long been drawn to spirals. The scroll of a violin. The swirling clouds in a hurricane. The volute on an Ionic column. The curl of a new fern frond. The trance-inducing dances of Brittany. The whorls of a sunflower’s seeds. A complex mathematical construction. An ancient symbol of consciousness, birth and rebirth. Magic and mystery.

insect egg spiral on downspoutinsect egg spiral filaments

I wish I’d been able to watch the insect — whatever she was — that laid these 53 tiny eggs in a spiral, about one inch in diameter, on a downspout near my parents’ back door. What in this tiny creature’s brain led her to deposit her eggs, each standing off the metal on a slender filament, in this particular shape?

I imagine that the same Hand that spun the stars into the spiral disk of our galaxy nudged this insect on her spiral path. I can’t begin to understand how that Hand moves, but I am awed and delighted by the patterns of its creation.

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

1 bug_girl December 27, 2007 at 6:11 am

It looks like eggs of a lacewing to me–usually Chrysoperla, but I’m not sure where you are located.

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/predators/chrysoperla.html

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2 bill December 27, 2007 at 7:08 am

fantastic.

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3 Janeen December 27, 2007 at 9:16 am

That is indeed wonderful. I want to know what kind of insect it is.

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4 Thel December 27, 2007 at 6:36 pm

Oh, wow, that is amazing! How excellent that you got a glimpse of that.

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5 sophie December 28, 2007 at 5:51 pm

Beautiful. I haven’t seen anything like that before. Thanks so much for sharing.

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6 Jaspenelle December 29, 2007 at 11:33 am

I love spirals as well! Especially those found within seashells. (I have only seen that spiral pattern with stalked eggs with lacewings btw.)

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