That is exactly what it looked like to me.

I found several others after this photo was taken but they were all destroyed, by people or other insects I don't know.

I am now quite glad I took the time to take photos of these 'bits' and submit them, and thank you for the other excellent documentation you've done too!

Scott

I'm terrible at guessing sizes. 5 mm maybe. Those are the growth marks on a redwood rail.
Tipulomorpha emergence, off a redwood rail some miles from this one.


I'll post the other odd stuff I've found on these rails this evening.

it's reminiscent of the case of a case-bearing leaf beetle larva (Cryptocephalinae), but it does seem to be made of mud rather than excrement. Possibly a mud-covered egg of a ground beetle? I just found a bunch of those the other day, and had larvae emerge yesterday from the ones I collected. All of the ones I saw were lying flat, though, rather than projecting out from the substrate like this. It would be interesting to see what you find if you open one up.

open it. Though it is on State Park Land, if you think it might get us an ID I can open one, as I have the proper permissions. Maybe Wednesday I can get back there. A couple different Lady Beetles are opening on the same small fenced in area, and the larva are going into what ever that in-between state at the same time, so there are more opportunities there for me too.

There was yarrow in the area the fence was surrounding, and I photoed some more of these kind of beetles, might this be a possibility?

I don't think that beetle could be related; as far as I know certain carabids are the only beetles that would make an egg case like this.

crushed, as if someone had sat on it. Looked like med fine dry sand.

carefully do that next time. The area presently is completely devoid of them, though 7 spotted lady beetles are hatching all over the place.