These Alien Egg Sacks are a Scary Looking, But Very Beneficial, Part of Texas

(Longview, Texas) - We love our lakes and ponds. They are great for swimming or fishing or jet skiing whatever other water activity we can enjoy. Our lakes and ponds are also full of very diverse wildlife.

The thing about that wildlife is that it can look very scary. Once you get educated on that scary bit of nature, you find out that it's very beneficial, and very natural, for that area. There is a creature, called bryozoan, that resembles an egg sack from an alien movie.  Don't be scared of them, though.

Alien Egg Sacks in Your Lake or Pond are a Good Thing in Texas

A bryozoan is what's called a sessile organism. They attach themselves to the underside part of a boat dock or a tree that's under water or underwater brush piles. These gel balls contain several million zooids that help filter out plankton in the lake and/or microscopic plants. These zooids also are a good food source for fish, insects and snails.

If you see one of these gel balls in the lake your in, be glad. It means that the water quality is good in that lake. They are also harmless to humans.

Don't Kill or Remove These Blobs

On the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension website, there is instructions on how to control the colonies of bryozoans that could be in your lake or pond. The thing is, they do so much good for that body of water, I wouldn't recommend doing it.

They do have a scary look to them, like a pod from an Alien movie. But bryozoans are not alien and they will not jump from the water and attach to your face. They are good for the environment.

Sightings in East Texas

The most common sightings of bryozoans have been in the Sam Rayburn Reservoir and Toledo Bend Reservoir. You can find out more details about those sightings at bradwiegmann.com.

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