Jun 12, 2009

Creepy Crawly ID Needed

Any idea what this might be? Some possibilities include: caterpillar imitating a bat, a bat imitating a caterpillar, or something else. Other sites don't seem to be able to ID it properly. But I know you can.

Any ideas on how to avoid one would be nice too. I don't feel like waking up one night to find one undulating its way up my chest.

Thanks for the video, Carl.

UPDATE: KB and anon3 have identified this as most likely being a caterpillar of the Phobetron (isn't that a ride at the state fair? genus, possibly a monkey slug caterpillar. Camouflage is just amazing.

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10 comments:

  1. KateJune 15, 2009

    I hope others can prove me wrong, but that looks like something that has been badly injured and the people taking the film were capturing it's last pained moments. If this is some fabulously, sneaky bat that can look like an injured animal before it pounces and eats the face off an unsuspecting prey item, YEA! More bats should do that...but, yeah, that video is a death rattle.

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  2. KBJune 15, 2009

    Hag Moth/Monkey Slug Caterpillar?

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  3. Anon...--June 15, 2009

    It's not a bat and it's not a badly-injured animal. My guess is that it's some sort of caterpillar, but it's hard to tell. I guess it could be some other kind of insect larva, but it's definitely a larval insect.

    Caterpillars (especially ones which are probably chinese but even that is not certain) are very hard to ID. Besides the fact that butterflies/moths make up one of the largest insect groups, the caterpillars often change quite a lot every time they molt.

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  4. ...--anonJune 15, 2009

    Looks like KB's right on the ballpark, this lepidoptera blog says that the larva is in the Phobetron genus. http://lepidopterology.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-post_04.html

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  5. TessaJune 15, 2009

    I have not had the creepy crawlies on this site, ever (except for posts on gastropods. Even then, it's not the creepy crawlies I feel, merely an overwhelming disgust). I've gone through the entire archive, too. That all changed with this.

    Now, I consider myself a lover of all creatures great and small (except gastropods). However, I felt distinctly uncomfortable watching that video. This perturbed me until I realized why I was so creeped out...

    That "caterpillar" is clearly a headcrab, of Half Life fame.

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  6. Denita TwoDragonsJune 16, 2009

    Yay for the interwebs! I spent almost all night trying to ID that crazy thing! Glad someone else had better success than me--I was just about crawling the walls in frustration! LOL!

    --TwoDragons

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  7. AnonymousJune 16, 2009

    If that thing had gotten anywhere near a human face or head, YOU JUST KNOW a 4" pair of fangs would have sprung out...

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  8. Skylan Lew June 17, 2009

    O...M...G... A HEADCRAB!

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  9. carlJune 21, 2009

    Monkey...slug...caterpillar? That's crazy! Why's it need so many names?

    Fascinating.

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  10. AnonymousJuly 08, 2009

    Where's my crowbar!??!

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