If you see this ‘googly-eyed’ creature in your backyard, here’s what it means

Even in this day and age, when most people would tell you we’ve seen and experienced almost everything there is to see and experience, the world is genuinely intriguing and full of wonders.

As a global community, we have access to things that our forefathers did not have because of the development of the internet. Consider events that transpire in the day-to-day lives of those who reside on the opposite side of the planet.

We continuously have the chance to discover new things and broaden our own horizons as a result of the mass media’s quick advancement and wisdom exchange. I’ve seen a lot of things online that I never would have seen otherwise, like insects and creatures that genuinely look like they belong somewhere else.

Now, I like to think of myself as reasonably knowledgable when it comes to wildlife, but I have to admit, I instantly thought a photo of a creature that an Australian woman claimed to have spotted in her backyard had to be a fake.

I wasn’t alone, either.

According to accounts, the concerned homeowner in Sydney, Australia, posted a picture of something she had noticed curled up against a hedge on social media and asked followers to help her identify it.

There’s no need to panic since the strange-looking insect—whose pink-and-black eyes give off the impression that a three-year-old kindergarten student smacked them—is supposedly a rather regular sight in that region of the world during this time of year.

Credit / Facebook

Naturally, neither the woman who discovered the specimen above nor a large number of Facebook users who saw her post understood it right away.

The woman enquired, “Does anyone know what this strange little creature is?”

“I seriously thought you stuck googly eyes on a weirdly shaped stocking,” one neighbor replied in the comments.

“That is the cutest thing I have ever seen,” another said.

Andrew Mitchell, an entomologist at the Australian Museum confirmed to Yahoo News Australia that the creature is a type of hawkmoth caterpillar.

“It is most often found on vines, including grape vines, and they are quite common, especially around this time of year — late summer to early autumn,” he said.

“This species has quite a wide distribution, from the Kimberley region (in WA) eastwards along the coastal strip all the way to Cape York (in Queensland) and then south to Sydney.”

According to reports, the insect has brown coloring to help disguise itself from predators, while their eyes are also used to deter anything that might consider making them a snack.

The caterpillars do not bite or sting but may release green liquid if disturbed.

“When threatened they puff up the front of their body, raise it into the air, suck the head in a bit, and can look quite convincingly like a snake when viewed front on — some species even hiss and strike at you,” Mitchell added. “But they’re completely harmless of course.”

So, if you live in any of the above mentioned locations in Australia, and you happen to see one of these “googly-eyed” critters in your yard, don’t panic!

Have you ever seen anything like this before? Let us know in the comments.

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