The world around us is truly fascinating and continues to perform wonders. Even now, when many can claim that we have seen and explored just about everything there is to see and explore.
The rise of the internet means that we, as a global collective, have access to things our ancestors never knew. For example, things happening in the daily lives of people living on the other side of the world.
A by-product of this rapid advancement in sharing wisdom and mass media is that we constantly have the opportunity to learn and broaden our own horizons. Thanks to the internet, I have seen all kinds of things that I otherwise would never have seen, like animals and insects that literally seem out of this world.
Fake?
I like to consider myself fairly well-informed when it comes to nature. However, I must confess that when I saw the photo of a creature that an Australian woman reportedly found in her backyard, I immediately assumed it must be fake.
And I wasn’t the only one…
According to reports, the woman turned to social media after making a striking discovery. She asked internet users to help her define what she had seen, curled up against a hedge in her backyard in Sydney, Australia.
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The peculiar-looking creature has pink and black eyes that look like they were stuck on by an enthusiastic three-year-old in kindergarten. Apparently, it’s a relatively normal sight in that part of the world, so there’s no need to panic.
However, that wasn’t immediately clear to the woman who found the above specimen, nor to many of the Facebook users who read her post.
“Does anyone know what this strange little creature is?” the woman asked.
“I seriously thought you had googly eyes on a weirdly shaped sock,” responded a neighbor.
“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” said another.
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Andrew Mitchell, an entomologist at the Australian Museum, confirmed to Yahoo News Australia that the creature is a caterpillar of the hawk moth.
“It is most commonly found on vines and is quite common, especially in late summer to early autumn,” he said. “This species has a fairly wide distribution, from the Kimberley region (in Western Australia) eastward along the coastal strip all the way up to Cape York (in Queensland) and then southwards to Sydney.”
Characteristics of this peculiar creature
According to reports, the insect has a brown color to blend in with its surroundings. They also use their eyes to deter anything that might consider them a snack. The caterpillars do not bite or sting but can emit green fluid if disturbed.
“When threatened, they puff up the front of their body. They will then lift it up in the air and suck their head in a little. The caterpillars can look quite convincing as a snake from the front if you see them. Some species even hiss and strike at you,” Mitchell added. “But they are completely harmless, of course.”
So if you happen to live in any of the aforementioned locations and spot one of these creatures with “googly eyes” in your garden… Don’t panic!
Have you ever seen anything like this before? Let us know in the comments.
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