Strange eggs

[ChrisR]

A friend just emailed me this photos - taken in December in a garden in South Oxfordshire. I am assuming that they are eggs of some sort - and possibly from a slug or snail but has anyone else got some better ideas?

[Jason Green]

Afternoon Chris,

...it's a Christmas tree decoration isn't it?!

From what I can see, I'd go for Spider eggs suspended by silk. It may be that the usual egg-mass was damaged, and now just hang down. If so, I doubt they'll be viable now, having been exposed to the elements and our snow.

Snails tend to deposit them under leaf-litter or logpiles, somewhere damp in my opinion.

Take care,

Jason

[JRsbugs]

They look like slug or snail eggs to me, much too big for spider eggs. The slug eggs I have come across from those huge slugs don't have the slimy stuff attached, they are usually under a tray or pots.

I have come across a snail which buried itself deep in a pot in my greenhouse laying eggs, it seems to be in a stange place hanging from under foliage, a Yew tree? This brings to mind a video I saw, the David Attenborough Life on Earth or whatever series of those big slugs hanging from a tree branch, twisting to the music while mating.

Janet

[diggleken]

Chubby Checker?

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by diggleken

Chubby Checker?

Now if you had heard them shout I might agree! (giving away your age there, and mine )

[ChrisR]

Thanks all

I guessed slug or snail because the threads look a bit less like silk and more like slimy ooze to me ... and they are obviously quite large - the thread was describes as 1-2 inches long and that's born-out by the comparative size of the Yew needles.

Would be nice to know whether there is a particular slug (or large spider!) that does this habitually because this wasn't the only one seen - the tree and another bush had many such threads.

[JRsbugs]

Slug sex... I had to post the google result as it starts automatically.

david attenborough life series slug - Google Search

[Action_Man]

Why would Slug or Snail eggs be hanging from a tree ?.

I have seen something like this before (on TV), but it was birds eating mistletoe, and they eject the sticky seeds from there bottom onto tree branches, and this is how it propagates.

And no i havent been drinking ...

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by Action_Man

Why would Slug or Snail eggs be hanging from a tree ?

My thoughts exactly. Yes, they look very much like Snail eggs - but how on Earth would it get up there to deposit them? I doubt a Snail would find the journey easy, or the depositing process! It isn't the right type of location either, too open which would dry them out IMO.

I wonder if Moth eggs are possible? Still, it doesn't explain the 'string' it's on! The line the eggs are suspended on goes right up to the top of the photo. It looks like it was a bundle to start with, then became damaged and 'unravelled' somewhat.

As for size, I think it may be a perspective thing. They look big, but so do the Yew leaflets at the top in comparison to those in the background of the eggs half-way down the 'string'. They appear to be about 1.3-5x the width of the Yew's individual leaves, if that's whay they're called!

An interesting one- thanks for posting Chris! Any chance of getting an update on how the eggs are now?

[JRsbugs]

Perhaps we should be using some logic here.

First question, is there any Mistletoe on the tree? And the bush next to it? Mistletoe seeds might not be that big, not what I have seen anyway. Birds can get the seeds stuck to their beaks, wiping them off elsewhere, or deposit some from having eaten them but this looks to be too many and isn't mingled with bird dropping.

Second question, did the Yew have lots of berries on it? They would be about that size, and in December there was a lot of frosty weather which may have caused them to bleach and go sticky if they do go sticky, lol! A cluster could reasonably start to thaw and slide in their own goo?

Third question, does the Yew overhang the bush which also has these on it?

Google images of Yew berries, about the correct size!

yew seeds - Google Search