It looks like insect eggs.

Never seen anything remotely like that, Paul.

may b google it

they also look like fungal spore cases on filament strands. abit like pin mould on bread. interesting.

I should have thought of that Sbg. Kudos!

I thought they looked like fruiting bodies of a tiny fungus too.

Drat! I've been staring at pictures of molds and blights and rusts untill my eyes feel furry, but I still haven't found anything like it. Doubly frustrating 'cause I seem to remember seeing something like it in college! Oh, well, that was almost 30 years ago anyway.

i remember the one that had chains of black /white spores and we studied it for genetics too [1977-1980]. That was Sordaria fimicola but grows on herbivore dung. Could be a relative I suppose.

Many of the slime mold sporangia are evocative, but they don't match exactly, and I have been having a hard time finding names to match the pictures:

http://englishrussia.com/images/slime_molds/10.jpg

is my best result so far.