What the bloody hell is this creature in my outhouse?? [pic]

[CountryMummy1]

Just been outside the feed the cat who has his food in the outhouse. There, hanging from the old pipework are 3 absolutely huge cocoons. They are hideous! Black and more than 4 inches long. They weren't there yesterday. What the hell is going to come out? AIBU to be very worried?

YOU TAPPED IT!!

My goodness you are brave, I give you that OP. I would maybe prod it with a stick, a very long stick.....

TheForm... we cant wait till tea time!! Send him the pic now please. I cant wait that long. I need to know what this is and I don't even live in the same country as OP. In Africa, we have some wonderful creatures, but that - oh god no, just would scare the shit outta me if that were in my garden.

What, the actual, fuck??

Effing hell.

Nothing more to add.

placemarks

It can't be a moth surely, it's too big!
Unless they have evolved all the bass and pork scratchings have made a superior moth race

Natural History Museum reckons its slime mould on Twitter but if it's rock hard how can that be !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the fuck?! I'm in the Midlands... Off to check my shed

You are very brave touching that thing...

Whoever tweeted the NHM, can you reply and say the OP says it is rock hard and is that possible for slime mould?

Ha ha OohMrDarcy...you have a point there!

Id call the bloody RSPCA, the Police, the Council, environmental health - anyone that will listen!

THE ID TEAM AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM SAY IT

"looks like the fruiting body, sporangia, of one of the more robust slime molds - not a true mold"

Well done hannahbflynn

Just checked again with a stick. Tapped very hard and nothing. Is absolutely solid

Lol

I'm offering King Alfred's Cakes or Witches Butter fungus.

Though I don't think they grow that quick so I might go back to aliens or zombies. Quite possibly alien zombies, or zombie aliens.

Send it to someone (picture or video). It does seem too big for a moth, don't think Hawk Moth pupae are that big. Not a entomologist though (correct word?)

Sorry, cross-posted with everyone. Yes yes can someone ask @NHM_ID about rock-hardness?

I hope it's not too 'robust' if it is a mould. How the hell do I get rid of it???

It is the fruiting body of a fungus, the "soil" is its spores being discharged.

Can you chip one off and see what's on the underside?

Someones tweeted them the question about rock hardness. No reply as yet ?

I think it must be a mould or a fungus - otherwise, it wouldn't have that 'bloom' of spores around it.

Either way, gross. can't believe you touched it - eek!

If they say it can be hard then I'm going to have a chip at it!!

If it's discharging its spores, you'll end up with them all over the place. It obviously loves the outhouse environment.

Industrial strength bleach is what's needed

Or a flamethrower.

Ripley says...

I bet the next tweet from the NHM is that they are packing up the museum and leaving the country to a special safe site deep in a mntain on a differs continent.