Insect and Spider Identification: CLOSED: What is this caterpillar like thing with weird shell, 1 by Elphaba

Elphaba wrote:
Saw one of these a few days ago crawling up my door frame. Today, one was hanging by a thread in the middle of my garden path. I caught the thread and held it in one hand while I took this photo. When it fell to the ground, I couldn't find it again. It appears like a caterpillar or a worm sticking its head out of what looks like a type of shell or cacoon. The one the other day was just like this. I'll post its pic too.