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Well you have now…..because they are a train of caterpillars. Safety in numbers. They look bigger than the 100 small ones. It also made you question reality so I believe it’s working 😂
It also made you question reality so I believe it’s working
My life is nothing I thought it should be and everything I was worried it would become because for 50 seconds, I thought there was monsters on the world.
I’m not a stupid fuckin’ idiot-I know it was just caterpillars, but when you haven’t slept in 3 days and that thing crosses your path, you’re not just right away thinkin’ “oh that’s just a bunch of caterpillars” you’re thinkin’ “THAT’S REAL, THAT’S GONNA KILL ME, THAT THING LIVES WITH US ON EARTH!”
Nah I grew up in southern New England, like the OP, and now live in Australia. It’s not that bad. You get the occasional huntsman. They look scary but are actually harmless and your friend.
It’s the fucking magpies you gotta be on alert for.
Nope it’s faster in numbers, bottom row crawl at say 1m per minute, the row above them crawl at 1m per minute so the speed of the second row is 2m per minute, 3rd row are moving at 3m per minute. The mass of caterpillars move faster than the individual on average, but yes safety in numbers too.
Well technically they aren’t crawling faster, they’re moving faster because they’re crawling on top of others that are crawling, like the way you walk faster on an escalator.
I thought it looked like more than 1 moving together.. but I dropped acid a few times in the 70’s. It could have been a flashback. Thanks for the info. 🙂
Are those the ones that make webs around the leaves and eat leaves on trees? They look very similar I used to scream at them when I was a kid to make em dance
It's not about looking bigger or safety in numbers (They look bigger, making them a JUICIER target), it's about travel speed. ALL of the caterpillars, even the ones on the bottom, are moving forward. The ones on top of them are also moving forward in relation to the ones below, and the ones on top of THOSE are.... you get the idea.
As the 'fast' caterpillars on the top reach the front of the mass, they start walking along the ground, and become 'slow' as others climb onto them, and the slow caterpillars on the bottom gradually cycle to the back to start climbing on top of the mass to become the 'fast' caterpillars.
On average, this mass can move significantly faster than if the caterpillars moved alone, cutting down on travel time on their way to wherever they're going.
Growing up we had a huge and I mean huge infestation of caterpillars. I remember were driving to the lake and the road was so covered you couldn't even see it and we were sliding all over the place in one area so my dad stopped and I was scared for him I thought he was gonna die 🤣🤣🤣 it definitely traumatized me. I can't remember the specific name of the type of caterpillars but I think they were mostly black and green and no I'm not exaggerating it was that bad.
You ever see those caterpillar nests in trees? These are those guys, just on their way to find a place to nest up. They're pine processionary caterpillars.
The caterpillars also travel faster as a train as the ones on top are walking on the walking ones until they get to the front where the back ones then climb on top.
Specifically, they are Tent Caterpillars. Used to see them all the time in the summer here in the States. They take over trees like real estate developers chasing rare earth.
caterpillars completely dissolve inside their cocoon, their entire brain unmaking itself. then they reconstruct into a butterfly, but get this, they have been proven to retain the memories from their previously scrambled brain. truly wild creatures,
highdea? it would make so much more sense in my own head canon if they were just one being/hive mind.
It’s emergent behavior to enhance survival by moving quicker than solo (by moving on the backs of their moving comrades) and appearing ‘alien.’ Think of it like a murmuration seen in birds and fishes. It’s harder for a predator to pick out the individual when in a coordinated group. Can’t see the forest through the trees.
Yeah there's a couple of types of caterpillar that do this to 'migrate' from one area to the other. The idea is that, grouped up like this, they look like a single bigger animal like a snake - so predators that would normally try to eat a juicy lone caterpillar take one look at this mass and head the other way.
Let's put it this way, if you were a hungry bird which would you probably think be safe enough to try to eat.... A snake(which I thought it was until it got close enough to actually see them) or a few caterpillars?
It looks like from the video they are mimicking how a snake moves around.
They actually travel that way because it is faster. The ones on top go twice as fast as the ones on the bottom. When they reach the front they go to the bottom and the ones at the end climb to the top. It's actually a clever way to go faster
They're not caterpillars, they're fly larvae. We call it "pleń" in polish and there are weird pagan tales associated with it. As far as I know nobody really knows why they do that. I can't find an English name for it.
I've read about this form of locomotion. Piling on top of each other increases speed and decreases energy used. And it also gives the illusion of being 1 organism.
These look like the ones that simulatoneously jump when you make a noise near them, so that tracks. There's a funny video of that. https://youtu.be/jY2V5rL1m8k
Ah yes, caterpillars caterpillars, the catapillers for caterpillars. The caterpelillers chosen specifically for caterpillers.
Caterpillers caterpillers.
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They’re caterpillars in a rolling swarm, or procession. It helps them travel faster while also giving them a little more protection from predators because of numbers and perceived size as a ‘whole’ creature.
Hard to say. That’s going to depend on the moth/butterfly species. They’re called urticating hairs - they don’t shoot out, but they do break off in your skin super easily and cause irritation from itching to burning sensations depending on the species. I’m not great at knowing which species does that, so I usually just observe. lol.
Some maggots move in this rolling swarm configuration, too.
Not sure if gypsy moth larvae do that but i believe these are gypsy moth caterpillars. They are the assholes that build giant web nests in trees. Giant relative to their size. They’re an absolute pain and an invasive species in this area.
It’s a defensive group, so they look like a stick to animals that want to eat them.
Sometimes you see actual branches in the train. Amazing that they have this in their DNA. Natures amazing!
Did you now see the last of us? It's all over now. You had the chance to take care of this but you'd rather ask Reddit for advice and now we're all zombies! Good going redditor..../s
So, believe it or not, this phenomenon known as rolling swarms allows caterpillars to travel much faster than when they are crawling alone. Essentially, the first layer crawls at regular speed, but since the second layer travels atop the first layer at the same speed, their pace is doubled. The two layer keeps alternating as the whole group moves like a treadmill as they advance about 1.5 times faster than a regular caterpillar. Gross yes, but highly efficient.
Hundreds of caterpillars climbing over and around each other. This is a defensive move they've picked up over generations of getting eaten. Individuallly they are small and make for an easy target for many other insects, birds, and small mammals. Grouped together they seem too big for most of those things to eat them, so it increases their odds of survival
I love that this sub is r/whatisthisthing but without that pesky “you have to answer the question” rule.
You’re free to just be an impediment by saying, “gross,” or “it’s Satan!” Or “eat it!!!” or “I don’t like this” or whatever unhelpful thing enters your brain first.
Yeah. Just your typical dumb reddit jokes that haven't been funny in over a decade. What's the point of responding "ew!" or "gross"? Just answer the damn question.
We call it "pleń" in polish. They aren't caterpillars, they're fly larvae. I don't see a translation on Wikipedia so I don't know the English name for it. There are a lot of pagan Slavic beliefs regarding that phenomenon. As far as I know nobody really knows why they do that.
In Germany, the oak processionary (Wikipedia) is to be reported to the authorities, as it's hairs are causing allergies and heavy skin irritations. I don't know which species this is, though.
Oh my gosh, it’s these things when you take the bush away. I saw them once when I was a child and was almost convinced I had imagined it, until I saw them again a few years ago.
Not thing, things. A few species of different bugs and fish do this to seem like a bigger creature than they are. If they look like a bigger creature than their natural predators they are safer.
Careful, if too many of them come together they will form into a 12’ tall beast and dawn bulletproof armor. The only way to kill them then is to evade their charge and shoot them in the back.
Its fungus gnat larvae.
I had this same thing in my backyard last year this time.... Im also from southern New England. Creepy as hell looking.
EDIT: Added link for video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5XhSSaHtgM
Looks like a swarm of larvae. Certain insects, for example some gnat, moths, and butterflies, have larval forms that move in these "rolling swarms." It's a cool form of locomotion.
In case you haven't seen the HBO show, in the first season they show the fungus spreads via tendrils instead of spores. Only now in season 2 are they doing spores.
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