Will someone please help ID this WEIRD thing on my tomato plant?

I usually can just google something up based on the right words, but i can't find ANYTHING that looks like this!
I'm in California Zone 9b and just saw this (i'm assuming egg cluster) on the leaf of my tomato plant. I'm extremely curious what little dude laid these, even if it was already picked off and squashed. RIP.
Help!!

I'd be curious to see what they'd hatch into.  

Is there any way you could snip that vine off the plant, put it in water, and watch to see what emerges from those little eggs?  Or just leave it out there and let nature take its course.  Who knows -- maybe its a beneficial insect that you want in your garden.

I did a little searching, and I believe that's a wheel bug egg cluster. The brown color, whitish tops and hexagon-like cluster point to wheel bug, and let's hope it is! Wheel bugs are a type of assassin bug, and they will eat bad bugs that cause problems in the garden such as that japanese beetle in the second picture.

James Freyr wrote: I believe that's a wheel bug egg cluster.

Woo! Go team!

Marco Banks wrote:I'd be curious to see what they'd hatch into.  

Is there any way you could snip that vine off the plant, put it in water, and watch to see what emerges from those little eggs?  Or just leave it out there and let nature take its course.  Who knows -- maybe its a beneficial insect that you want in your garden.

i like that train of thinking and it's a great reminder to remain curious rather than fearful, i've just had bad experiences lately with pests, but i can't let that control how i handle future situations that arise. so thanks!
like i said i already picked off the leaf and squished it. next time i'll think more before i act and see if i can run a little experiment! but definitely a controlled one haha. wouldn't want to leave that to hatch a bunch of dudes who will wreak havoc on my plant babies!

James Freyr wrote:I did a little searching, and I believe that's a wheel bug egg cluster. The brown color, whitish tops and hexagon-like cluster point to wheel bug, and let's hope it is! Wheel bugs are a type of assassin bug, and they will eat bad bugs that cause problems in the garden such as that japanese beetle in the second picture.

hmm, i also googled and the clusters have some similarities but look pretty different imo? i appreciate your research! nonetheless, now i'm learning about a new bug. interesting stuff.

I’d be very curious to find out if you discover for certain who they belonged to!
Perhaps more will appear. If they do happen to be those of the wheel bug, just be mindful not to touch or disturb any of those critters. As a curious and bug loving kid, I learned the hard way that their bite is extremely painful.