It's an empty cicada shell. The bug part of it has already crawled out and flew off.

Thank you for the quick response! Wow, I've never seen this. I just googled how they do the emergence--really interesting process. So, I guess I'm good to just knock these off.

Yep.........and control of the adult is not necessary. They don't even eat in the adult phase. I am really fortunate to live in a place where we not only have the annual cicadas but several broods of the periodic cicadas. It's one of the most astounding natural happenings you can experience. The noise is deafening as millions of them crawl out of the ground after thirteen to seventeen years. You can hear the brood progressing from the distance, a bit closer each day until you are in the middle of it. My geese went crazy eating them, as did the dog, who would then barf them up and eat more.

my kids collected them.. and took them to school the next fall .. made quite a hit with the non-observant crowd

ken

My brother-in-law collected about a gallon of them, hid them in my purse which I opened the next day at work and the screams were heard over the whole building. I got even the next spring by serving him from a platter of a dozen un-boiled and beautitfully decoreated Easter eggs. He took the prettiest one and cracked it on his head. He also cleaned up the egg yolk mess in my MIL's living room.