They're squash bug eggs. Scroll down the page link to see them. Destroy them!

You know, my first thought WAS squash borer...but I can't remember why I discounted that right away...maybe I just forgot, lol! I do have one squash plant, in a container on my deck. I'll be sure to watch the plant, and clean off the undersides of the vines. I've heard you can wrap the vines with old pantyhose to foil the borers...any truth to this? Thanks!

Farmgardener, Thanks for the kind words. I have to confess that I had released ladybugs for years before I finally figured out what the larvae looked like....and then it was only because I saw these peculiar gray alligator-shaped things and wanted to know what they were. Much 'googling' later, I knew they were ladybug larvae. Okiefamily, You know, the larvae are actually cuter than they appear in that photo. Most of the ones I see are a lighter gray with some pale orange splotches. If I can google and find a photo of some that look like that, I will link it below. They do look really, really odd as they get older and begin to look more like actual lady bugs. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful:

rhizo, It must be over thirty years since I've been bitten by more than a mosquito. I guess I'm curious to a point and from a distance. [g] Okay, I found this about Bats.... Katydids and Bats Crickets are not the only animals that inadvertently signal to another species. A close cousin of the field cricket, the greener, longer-legged katydid, faces a similar challenge. Instead of attracting the female he bargained for when he launched into full voice, a male katydid may find himself becoming a meal for a bat. A repetitive staccato trill made up of many frequencies proves easy to locate, no matter what species produces it. This is, of course, the purpose of the male katydidÂs trill. But in bat-infested Panama, katydids change their tune. They sing a higher-pitched song, with a narrower frequency range, much harder to locate. They also sing a lot less. In an experimental situation, loud, enthusiastic katydids caged with hungry bats survived less than a minute. Shyer, quieter males lasted more than half an hour before becoming bat bait. But if males must remain quiet to survive, how can they attract Ms. Right? A quiet, infrequent trill can bring a female into the vicinity, perhaps to the same plant. The quieter males then complete their attractive act with a silent dance so enthusiastic they shake the leaf theyÂre standing on. Females detect the dance through the plant, locating the source of both the beautiful voice and the swiveling hips.