I was prowling around in the dark (with a light) tonight huntin' critters. I was looking around this pine tree when I noticed this strange pattern in the bark. So, I thought I would pull the bark back to see if I could tell what was inside or what made the pattern. By the way, the pattern was in a couple of places I could see on the tree so it wasn't just this one. When I pulled it off I saw the web at the top then I saw the little critter on the left side. The part of the pattern that was exposed is the dull red/brown color while the part that was under the bark is the brighter red/rust colored parts of the pattern.
1). What made this pattern ?
2). What is the web at the top from ?
3). What is the critter on the left side (there is a close up in the next pic) and is it hibernating (it never moved the whole time) ?