Nature & Environment

Australian man spots bizarre 'creature'

By T.K. Randall
August 17, 2021

Image: Aerial view of the Sydney Opera House
Credit: James Cridland / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) When the man, whose name has not been disclosed, first came across the spectacle, his first impression was that he had stumbled upon some sort of large spider.

On closer inspection, however, it became apparent that he was looking at a large congregation of large, hairy caterpillar-like insects which were all writhing around on top of one another.

Keen to get to the bottom of the mystery, he posted footage on Reddit.

"I was just trying to enjoy my walk. Thought it was a giant spider at first!," he wrote."Clearly no social distancing here."

It didn't take long for someone to identify the mystery critters as the larvae of the spitfire sawfly which have a habit of clustering together to help protect themselves from birds.

Fortunately, despite their unusual appearance, they are quite harmless to humans.

I was just trying to enjoy my walk. Thought it was a giant spider at first! Clearly no social distancing here. from melbourne

Source: Mail Online

Tags: Australia