Identify this thing (egg sack? Chrysalis?)

[A993LAD]

Walking the dogs earlier and spotted this on a tree. Never seen one before. It's about 3 inches long 1 inch thick and feels soft and squidgy.

Didn't want to cut it open in case it contains something alive.

[V8FGO]

Spider egg sac, no idea which species

[A993LAD]

V8FGO said:

Spider egg sac, no idea which species

That's what I thought but it's massive compared to others I've seen

[Doofus]

A993LAD said:

V8FGO said:

Spider egg sac, no idea which species

That's what I thought but it's massive compared to others I've seen

It's either big spiders or lots of spiders.

Poke it with a stick, and tell us what happened.

[Simpo Two]

Or don't poke it with a stick, and let nature tell you when it's ready.



Just hope I don't meet the spider that made it

[Doofus]

Simpo Two said:

Or don't poke it with a stick, and let nature tell you when it's ready.

What, when they come knocking on the bedroom window in the middle of the night?

[A993LAD]

Hmm still not sure. Just been Googling huge spider egg sac and none of the images are showing anything that looks as big as this.

It's about the size of half a tennis ball stuck to the tree.

[WelshRich]

Could just be fungus…

[Simpo Two]

A993LAD said:

It's about the size of half a tennis ball stuck to the tree.

It seems to have shrunk rapidly from 3" to a puny 1.35"... (a tennis ball is 2.7" diameter)

[Doofus]

How big would half a tennis ball be if it wasn't stuck to a tree?

[A993LAD]

Simpo Two said:

It seems to have shrunk rapidly from 3" to a puny 1.35"... (a tennis ball is 2.7" diameter)

And surely a tennis ball cut in half would still have the same 2.7 inch diameter, no?

[Equus]

WelshRich said:

Could just be fungus…

Enlarging the photos, I think this could well be right - it doesn't look like a spider egg sack to me. Spider egg sacks are (unsurprisingly) covered in silk. If you zoom in on the photo and look at the edges, that's not silk.

My money is on False Puffball Fungus:

[mickyh7]

Not in a Dogging Area, is it?

[Simpo Two]

A993LAD said:

Simpo Two said:

It seems to have shrunk rapidly from 3" to a puny 1.35"... (a tennis ball is 2.7" diameter)

And surely a tennis ball cut in half would still have the same 2.7 inch diameter, no?

Bah, technicality!

I'm going for the puffball.

[Mobile Chicane]

A993LAD said:

Walking the dogs earlier and spotted this on a tree. Never seen one before. It's about 3 inches long 1 inch thick and feels soft and squidgy.

Didn't want to cut it open in case it contains something alive.

What's it on? Alder would be a good shout for Enteridium lycoperdon, AKA 'moon poo'