They’re ‘Alien Egg Sacks’ If You See One In Texas Don’t Harm It

The thing about wildlife is that it can look scary, but once you get educated on that scary bit of nature, you might find out that it's beneficial. Like these creepy-looking things.

There's a creature, called bryozoan, that resembles an egg sack from an alien movie.  But don't be scared of them.

Alien Egg Sacks in Your Lake 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 underwater 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 you're 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 are instructions on how to control the colonies of bryozoans that could be in your lake or pond. But 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're good for our 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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