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What on earth is this?
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What on earth is this?


Looks to me like some sort of carnivorous organism, the way it opens and closes. Also looks kind of like a whole bunch of caterpillars moving in sync. Very bizarre.

Spotted near Brooklyn NSW



by nimrodisease

32 Comments

  1. bewilderedfroggy

    Idk but get it away from me. (Sorry not helpful at all, but now I want to know too.)

  2. username____needed

    Going out on a limb here… Bunch of caterpillars?

  5. merk_merkin

    Seems to be Eucalypt Sawfly larvae – or something straight out of your nightmares

  9. Findyourwayhom3333

    Sawfly larvae. They will munch at your plant so I would dispatch accordingly

  10. AnonymousAnonm

    It looks like a group of caterpillars… but its really gross still

  11. NMEHAWK

    Give me a break you live here and don’t know what they are FFS

  14. usernamesuggestions5

    Ugh spitfires
    I find them quite unsettling

  15. imaginableimage

    Looks like spitfire caterpillars to me

  16. AddisonDeWitt333

    OMG don’t go near it! Worst pain I ever felt as a kid was when I accidentally put my arm into a bunch of them – burning fire!

  17. OrganicMaintenance59

    Sawfly. My place is infested too! I think it’s the sudden warm days, they’ve burst forth. Cut them off or you can hose them hard and they fall off! Can also try a spray bottle with some dish liquid mixed with water.

  18. KumiiTheFranceball

    I don’t know but it looks inviting.

  19. mccann73

    Spitfires, they will spit a gooey eucalyptus smelling liquid when disturbed, they are not poisonous. Leave them be, the Gumtree will handle it. Used to see these all the time, a lot rarer in my area these days…

  20. OkGate7788

    My cousin ate a bunch of these as a kid. His nappy was RANK 💩

  24. ObligationThis9473

    Seeing this used to give me the creeps when I was a kid.

  25. Worth_Ad3904

    They’re called Spitfires and they grow into wasps in later life. I don’t know if they’re poisonous or not so best not touch them or get too close.

  26. turtleltrut

    Argh! They’re terrifying!

    Now that everyone’s saying they’re Spitfires, I’m surprised I never saw them clumping together like this. They were everywhere at my high school.

  28. Few-Elevator3774

    To think I could have gone to sleep happily tonight without seeing that.

  29. Kerg1

    I remember spitfires, but I don’t remember them doing this coordinated ritual looking thing

  31. petit_cochon

    God, I love Australian flora and fauna.

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