Mystery Eggs Hatch
They hatched!
Well, I was wrong in my theory about these possibly being Nepytia phantasmaria or Phantom Hemlock Looper eggs, so my next steps will be to review all my moth photos from early September to try and thread out any other possibilities. That may take some time. Initial observation (date eggs laid) was Sept. 12, 2021. Today is Oct. 7, 2021. They are indeed pretty tiny and if you look closely, you can see the caterpillar body rolled up in the eggs that haven’t hatched. The tree is a Caucasian Fir (Abies nordmanniana).
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for further updates. I’ll do my best to figure out an ID for these. 🙂
Bugging You From San Juan Island 
So what did they end up being?? I have some of these hatching on a little fir in my yard right now and am so curious!
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It is still a complete mystery. The tiny caterpillars literally disappeared after hatching. I didn’t notice much, if any defoliation of our tree. Wish I’d collected some to rear out.
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Welp we’ve got a bunch on our tree on Salt Spring if you would like to check them out. Maybe we will rear a few in a jar and take some photos for you!
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That would be awesome! I’d love to see what you end up with.
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