Strange encounter of the insect kind

On the (alas, still Ned-less) Nature Walk last Wednesday, I noticed some very strange growths on a dried out Bush Spiderling (Commicarpus scandens) stem. (As I moved some of the brush around for a photo, the stem broke off in my hand. Even highly trained naturalists have occasional 'oops' moments. We put it back near the plant and are hoping for the best.) Heather took the first photo to show just how small this is. 

Photo by Heather Jaeger 1/13/2016, Hand by Anne

The group gathered around, more photos were taken, ideas tossed out. The pattern is so regular - really quite beautiful.

Photo bys Marty Horowitz 1/13/2016,  Hand by Anne

Fred turned it over to get a closer look at the underside. We were pretty convinced that these are eggs of some kind. (Although Lyn was sticking to her theory of aliens : -)

Hand by Fred

And again Fred for the win. He writes:

I knew I had seen those eggs pictured somewhere and sure enough I found them in the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of NA (Eric Eaton/Kenn Kaufman). They are the eggs of the one of the angle-winded katydids, most probably the Greater Angle-wing (Microcentrum rhombifolium). Anne’s blog of December 23 had a couple of Marty’s photos of the adult we found just above the dam (not too far from these eggs).

And now you know - Katydid it!