'Creature from hell': Viral video of insect terrifies netizens

The person who shared the video said he saw the insect in Laverton town of Western Australia, which is a 10-hour drive from Perth, according to reports

Trends Desk

Published: Fri 14 Jul 2023, 2:02 PM

A video of an insect dubbed “creature from hell” by a section of netizens has gone viral on social media. The TikTok clip, which has garnered over 10 million views, shows the blue-greyish insect making weird movements.

According to News.com.au, the user who shared the viral video said he saw the insect in Laverton town of Western Australia, which is a 10-hour drive from Perth. It appeared to be a mix of a stick insect and a scorpion that had wings and a sharp tail. It was seen moving aggressively in a stabbing motion.

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The clip drew a number of reactions from users on TikTok.

One said, “Australia looks gorgeous but the insects carry guns and smoke cigars. Never going.” Another added: “I am Australian and now I am actually scared."

“We are moving back to Western Australia after 5 years this isn’t making me too excited about it,” a comment read. Another person wrote, “Thank God I am far away from Australia”.

While the creature looked terrifying, Australian entomologist Nikolai Tatarnic said that it was harmless. Tatarnic told News.com.au that the creature was a walking stick insect, which belongs to the family of Phasmatidae.

“While most people are aware of their camouflage (i.e. looking like a stick), some species also engage in threat or startle displays (also called ‘deimatic behaviour’) to ward off potential predators,” the entomologist said.

Tatarnic believes that the insect “is the genus Paronchestus, probably P. cornutus, as it closely resembles a specimen in our collection, which was collected from Laverton”.

Claiming that phasmids are herbivores and are not venomous, Tatarnic said the insect’s threatening behaviour in the clip is “all a ruse, but it clearly works”.

The entomologist added that these creatures are found “all across Australia” but we fail to spot them because of their camouflaging ability.

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