I went to the cemetery for a short walk at lunch, and just happened to stroll by the wild raspberries. You know how that can happen, right? There were so many there, almost over-ripe, that I was aghast. Wasting fresh raspberries is against my religion, dontcha know, so I proceeded to pick and pick–and then I came across this lovely.
In case you’re wondering, it’s an empty husk from a cicada. See the split along the back where the new winged creature emerged?
Years ago, I had the good fortune to see one of these crawl up the side of a tree in my yard. I watched as it attached itself to the tree. Slowly, a new, winged creature emerged from the now-lifeless husk left behind. It beat its wings to dry and harden them, then flew off with a buzz.
That right there, and these photos here, are like science fiction to me–too amazing to be true! Can you see this put into a dragon’s story? Hmm….
Everyday Magic | M. E. Garber 
Oh, cool! I find similar husks around here from dragonfly larvae, but we don’t have cicadas.
I’ve never (to my knowledge) seen dragonfly larva husks, although we *do* have dragonflies. I’m going to have to look those up now, and see what I’m missing.