critters and seed heads

it was on the cold side for most of november but late december here has turned rainy and warmer than normal...i knew i had a few teosinte ears out back ( aside from the ones i left to shatter...just to see what happens in the spring ) and i did not want the seeds to begin to soften and rot in the moisture so i went out this morning to bring them in...and i i discovered i had fewer than expected...you can see in the top two photos that something has been grazing them...i say grazing because the ears are not opened and stripped of seeds as they would be if birds had been the culprits...something bit the seed ears off clean...so i brought in what was left to dry before i wrap them up...it seemed a good time to make some comparisons so i got out an ear of apache red maize that came from the community garden and set i on the counter to compare with some open seeds and some ears...the maize kernels are much larger than the single row of teosinte seeds but the family resemblance is still clear...from the husks on the unopened seed ears to the silks on both sets of seeds they have zea written all over them...i will be letting these seeds dry...open or in the husks...and i will be sowing some come march...the parent plant for these seeds was one i grew from seed i harvested out back in 2013..a third generation may be too much to ask but i am willing to try anyway.