Photo of the Day
Each day, we highlight one extraordinary photograph from National Geographic. Check out more of our photos here.
Hundreds of tiny, dark ermine moth caterpillars cover a tree in white silk.
October 5, 2026 | The Ghostly Willow
A swarm of ermine moth caterpillars engineered this surreal scene along the Waal River in the Netherlands, encasing a willow tree in silk. The caterpillars, captured by photographer Theo Bosboom, used the ghostly covering as a path to the tree’s leaves and as protection from birds and other predators until it was time to transform into moths and fly off. Bosboom was mesmerized by the “frantic energy” of the creatures, which crawled into his hair and gear as they spun the eerie creation. This photo is featured in the "In Focus" series in the October 2026 issue of National Geographic.
