[imagesource:twitter/troopersext]

Many South Africans have immigrated to Australia in the last few decades, be it to avoid load shedding, crime, or any of the myriad of issues we are dealing with. Few of them were, however, prepared for the wildlife freak show that awaited them down under, something the eager immigration consultants never talk about.

A recent TikTok went viral showing an insect that people referred to as the “creature from hell” due to its terrifying appearance and behaviour.

With oblong wings flared out, resembling a combination of a stick and a scorpion, it appeared to stab the air with its sharp tail. The bug’s movements were likened to superbugs from classic monster movies and alien video games. In fact, it resembled the ‘bugs’ from the Starship Troopers franchise. Ugh!

Fortunately, the nightmare from Oz has now been identified by entomologists, so we can scratch it off our ‘possibly alien’ list. Whether knowing it belongs on Earth makes it better to look at is another story.

Experts identified it as a walking stick insect, belonging to the family Phasmatidae, and apparently, it is harmless. The insect’s threatening behaviour is a ruse used for defence against potential predators.

Paronchestus cornutus(Stick insect). Dubbed ‘a creature from hell’ before being identified pic.twitter.com/FiQfCD33ZB

— Interesting Videos (@EngagingVids) July 20, 2023

Oh hell no. I don’t care if that thing is harmless, if it comes running and stabbing at me in the veld, it’s meeting my size-10 boot. Repeatedly.

We might have our problems in Mzansi, but at least we don’t have that.

[source:iol]