UPDATE: 10 a.m.

Castanet readers have come through again to identify a rather odd insect.

Mike Newitt found an insect encased in a hard shell on the shores of Mabel Lake.

He sent a video to Castanet and when we asked our readers if they knew what it was, dozens of people responded, many with the right answer.

The critter in question is not an alien fleeing Area 51 – as one person suggested – but rather it is a caddisfly larva, a very common life form for the area.

According to Wikipedia, The aquatic larvae are found in a wide variety of habitats such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, spring seeps and temporary waters.

The larvae of many species use silk to make protective cases, which are often strengthened with gravel, sand, twigs, bitten-off pieces of plants, or other debris. The larvae exhibit various feeding strategies, with different species being predators, leaf shredders, algal grazers, or collectors of particles from the water column and benthos. Most adults have short lives during which they do not feed.

Thank you everyone who responded and stay tuned for the next weird insect in our area.

ORIGINAL: 5 a.m.

The weird bugs just keep coming.

This one, however, is more baffling than a see-through spider or a moth that is only slightly smaller than an eagle.

This critter was spotted by Mike Newitt who told Castanet he “found this crawling on a dead fish on the shoreline on Mabel lake. No one knew what it was. The cocoon-like shell was hard as rock and made up of sand mostly. Very interesting.”

If anyone has an idea of what this entity is, send an email to let us know.