Last summer, there was a mysterious cocoon-like object on one of the wood beams of our back deck. It was about two inches long and half an inch wide, with a spiral pattern going up it, light tan and appeared to be made of sand - especially odd since we do not live near a beach. It did not appear to move or change at all for a year, and then today it was gone but for a few specks of 'sand' and lighter wood. There was a new one (or perhaps the same one?) about a foot away on a metal pole, also on our back deck. This one, too, appears unstationary. Any ideas what it is?
CLOSED: Large sandy potential cocoon
This could be a 'nest' of a wasp in the family Sphecidae known as a mud dauber. They use very damp/wet soil to construct these tubes, and then provision them with paralyzed but living spiders that their young will feed upon - see http://tinyurl.com/lwz37g
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