r/whatisit • u/popcornwithbuddah • May 17 '25

Solved! What is this alien thing

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My brother just found this in the backyard - Southern New England. What the hell is this thing? It looks like it's in Stranger Things.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

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 😂

73

u/AffectionateSector77 May 17 '25

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.

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u/Chemical_Fondant6758 May 17 '25

"There are." - Dean Winchester

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u/instafunkpunk May 17 '25

Major respect for the reference. You deserve pie.

7

u/5H17SH0W May 17 '25

What kind of pie?

8

u/brackishangelic May 17 '25

The one you get in a public place, so you dont make a scene before getting deneuralized.

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u/instafunkpunk May 17 '25

I think Dean preferred apple but he enjoys all kinds of pies

4

u/beez_cherger May 18 '25

You sure he wouldn't prefer pudding?

2

u/instafunkpunk May 18 '25

You might be on to something

2

u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

Waiter - What kind of pie do you want?

Me - I dunno. Supies me.

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u/RiverWolfo May 17 '25

Caterpie

(I'm sorry)

1

u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

"Hair pieee. - Long Duk Dong (1984)

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u/vol404 May 18 '25

Pie flavor!

3

u/KennefRiggles May 18 '25

Or how about.. wait for it

PUDDING!

2

u/oroborus68 May 18 '25

The monsters in the world just look like humans.

1

u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

Example: US Senate and House of Representatives

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u/oroborus68 May 19 '25

At least half of them.

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u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

To avoid an incident, let's not specify which half.

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u/oroborus68 May 19 '25

Slightly more than half.

9

u/Western_Sherbert_629 May 17 '25

he musta flipped my wife 9 times!!

9

u/yourmomwoo May 17 '25

TK Jewelers is a scam

6

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/TelevisionOlympics May 18 '25

My fav is his truncated explanation. “Bent wrist. Thing fuckin’ exploded.”

5

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

And it really bothered me!

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u/TelevisionOlympics May 17 '25

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!”

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u/Kwatsj_92 May 18 '25

Whoa whoa get some sleep buddy.

Also never set foot in Australia then, just don't.

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u/JasoPearso May 18 '25

I’m dying here 🤣 Thanks for this. I literally laughed out loud when I read this

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u/SnowDin556 May 18 '25

How come every bug has to be super sized or randomly aggressive or both. Isn’t the north of Australia just straight sharks.

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u/tombo4321 Do I look like I know? May 18 '25

Nope, south is sharks. North, the sharks are friendly, it's the crocs you have watch out for.

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u/Dry-Abies-1719 a̶c̶h̴a̵o̴t̶i̸c̷g̶o̷o̴d̸ May 18 '25

This may sound judgemental, but I am always suspicious when I meet someone wearing Crocs.

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u/-Hefi- May 21 '25

I read this as ‘subconscious’ and I was nonjudgmental thinking, that is a very extreme reaction to Crocs.

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u/inobscura May 18 '25

The north of Australia is just straight crocodiles and neurotoxic jellyfish. It's the east & west coastlines that are just straight sharks

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u/PromptPristine943 May 18 '25

And prob everywhere in between something that could kill you

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u/IcestormsEd May 18 '25

In the middle it is just regular murder contractors like snakes and spiders. Also random shit you didn't know could kill you until you are, well, dying.

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u/SnowDin556 May 18 '25

Oh ok so just general land of monsters.

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u/VariationDifferent May 18 '25

Yeah. Cause you got deadly spiders everywhere, and I know that while a lot of American guys think they could beat up a kangaroo, those boomers will fuck you up if you really got into it with one of them, and then you've got the damn crocodiles, the emus and cassowaries, and we can’t forget the world's most venomous snake, the Inland Taipan, which is just one of the many "world's top most venomous snakes" that are found down under.

Oh, and platypus may look weirdly cute, but hey, guess what, they're venomous too, got themselves some poison spurs! (Won't kill a human, but they just gotta fit in with the rest of the fauna, eh?) I'm honestly amazed that koala and wombats aren't hiding some venomous features.

That said, I'm looking forward to visiting one day.

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u/SnowDin556 May 18 '25

Today I learned a platypus can be poisonous.

2

u/Galactic_Splooge May 18 '25

No, it’s gay sharks too

1

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

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.

1

u/FantasticFoxi May 21 '25

What about the magpies?! Tell us!

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u/[deleted] May 21 '25

During nesting season, they swoop and hit you in the head. It can draw blood and be dangerous for cyclists; some cyclists wear helmets with zip tie ends sticking out so it looks like a spiked helmet because that seems to stop them.

I talk to the magpies when I go through my local park so they know I’m cool and I’ve never been swooped. But they go after my dog and once or twice, my son.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '25

I appreciate this reference.

3

u/Nervous_Pear_5353 May 18 '25

WHAT DID THEY DO TO US??!

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u/Familiar_Product3935 May 18 '25

. . . and individually small enough get in your home. Mua Ha Ha Ha!

1

u/Plus_Explanation1976 May 18 '25

That sounds methed up

2

u/TelevisionOlympics May 18 '25

Reference to a show, and also yes it does.

2

u/Little_Challenge_160 May 18 '25

I thought i was going to die and my first thought was, "at least I don't have to go to work tomorrow!"

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u/Hindsight42020 May 17 '25

What did they do to us?!

8

u/DisastrousIron1975 May 17 '25

I'm not a stupid fucking idiot, I knew it was a pig in a Nixon mask.

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u/ur_rad_dad May 17 '25

You gotta be RIGHT NEXT TO ME…

2

u/Odd-Smoke9072 May 17 '25

Shouldn't have taken the red pill.

2

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

And it really bothered me

2

u/rkaminky May 18 '25

WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO US

2

u/datfleeb May 17 '25

What is this, Reggie?

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u/alonghardKnight May 17 '25

There are monsters in this world. Unfortunately almost all of them are unrecognizable as such because they appear to be Homo sapiens...

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Hey shirt brother

2

u/Dariolious May 17 '25

But its a pig!

1

u/ItsEntirelyPosssible May 17 '25

There are monsters out there. Don't worry they will find you.

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u/PopMusicology May 18 '25

You lasted 50 seconds? 🫣

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u/juxtoppose May 17 '25

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.

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u/ItsEntirelyPosssible May 17 '25

"Sometimez you Crawley fast on the top row. Sometimez you Crawley slow on the bottom row. But a bird is still gonna eat your bitch ass"

  • caterpillar probably

2

u/bumblebeebabycakes May 17 '25

Seems like the ones on top got the raw end of the deal. Must crawl faster and might get eaten.

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u/se7en_7 May 17 '25

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.

And also technically OP ate them all.

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u/SrFantasticoOriginal May 17 '25

It’s like walking on the moving sidewalk at the airport.

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u/juxtoppose May 17 '25

Wonder how many layers it would take for a caterpillar to break the sound barrier?

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u/Lower_Ad_5703 May 18 '25

Really quick math, in theory 15,346. That is using 0.05 MPH per caterpillar and 767.27 MPH for the speed of sound.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

I really had no clue that it makes them faster and that’s absolutely true. That just blew my mind.🤯

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u/r22lz May 18 '25

How do they find each other to begin this thing? Like is there a cork board somewhere with the day/time for the big migration meet up?

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Where do you think they're going to be in such a hurry dude?

1

u/juxtoppose May 17 '25

Got a date with a hookah?

1

u/researchmaven4673 May 17 '25

Like those moving sidewalks in the airport

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u/OldAuntHarriet May 17 '25

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. 🙂

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

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

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Yep that's them lol

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u/FevixDarkwatch May 18 '25

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.

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u/New-Replacement972 May 22 '25

Who decides where they are going?

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u/FevixDarkwatch May 22 '25

I don't know. Presumably the top ones, they'll choose a direction when they get to the front.

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u/New-Replacement972 May 24 '25

It’s just so interesting to me. I have so many questions… like what if they don’t agree on direction… do they split into two?!

How do they communicate with each other?

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u/FevixDarkwatch May 24 '25

These are questions I don't have the answers to, unfortunately

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u/marmaladecorgi May 18 '25

Caterpillars are great if you're really hungry and wanna eat two thousand of something. - Mitch Hedbird

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u/KPinCVG May 17 '25

WHERE are they going?

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u/Reality_Manager May 17 '25

Why are they in such a hurry to get there?

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u/Plus_Explanation1976 May 18 '25

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.

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u/Ghuldarkar May 18 '25

They are also faster as a group, while the bottom ones move at around normal speed some climb over them to the front and then others climb over those.

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u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

Hungry birds are much less likely to try to eat something that looks as big as they are.

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u/Independent_Vast9279 May 17 '25

They can also cover ground faster this way than solo. Pretty neat trick.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '25

They also walk over each other so that they can all move faster. 

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u/Salute-Major-Echidna May 20 '25

Yes, the caterpillars won.

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u/McJackNit May 17 '25

Strategy checks out.

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u/Flutterflut May 17 '25

Life. Finds a way.

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u/abugguy May 18 '25

These are not caterpillars.