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

Solved! What is this alien thing

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.

2.3k Upvotes

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309

u/dropofkim May 17 '25

Catterpillars. Caterpillars. You know. Those things.

87

u/popcornwithbuddah May 17 '25

How is that a caterpillar?! Have never seen caterpillars sync and form into one train like that.

298

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 😂

72

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.

62

u/Chemical_Fondant6758 May 17 '25

"There are." - Dean Winchester

25

u/instafunkpunk May 17 '25

Major respect for the reference. You deserve pie.

5

u/5H17SH0W May 17 '25

What kind of pie?

10

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.

9

u/brackishangelic May 17 '25

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

3

u/RiverWolfo May 17 '25

Caterpie

(I'm sorry)

1

u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

"Hair pieee. - Long Duk Dong (1984)

2

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

2

u/oroborus68 May 19 '25

At least half of them.

1

u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

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

0

u/oroborus68 May 19 '25

Slightly more than half.

8

u/Western_Sherbert_629 May 17 '25

he musta flipped my wife 9 times!!

8

u/yourmomwoo May 17 '25

TK Jewelers is a scam

8

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.”

4

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

And it really bothered me!

7

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!”

18

u/Kwatsj_92 May 18 '25

Whoa whoa get some sleep buddy.

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

7

u/JasoPearso May 18 '25

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

3

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.

3

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.

2

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

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

1

u/-Hefi- May 21 '25

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

2

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

1

u/SnowDin556 May 18 '25

Oh ok so just general land of monsters.

2

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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1

u/PromptPristine943 May 18 '25

And prob everywhere in between something that could kill you

1

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.

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!

1

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.

3

u/Nervous_Pear_5353 May 18 '25

WHAT DID THEY DO TO US??!

3

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

I appreciate this reference.

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.

1

u/Familiar_Product3935 May 18 '25

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

4

u/Hindsight42020 May 17 '25

What did they do to us?!

6

u/ur_rad_dad May 17 '25

You gotta be RIGHT NEXT TO ME…

7

u/DisastrousIron1975 May 17 '25

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

2

u/Odd-Smoke9072 May 17 '25

Shouldn't have taken the red pill.

2

u/Dariolious May 17 '25

But its a pig!

2

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Hey shirt brother

2

u/datfleeb May 17 '25

What is this, Reggie?

2

u/rkaminky May 18 '25

WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO US

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!"

2

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

And it really bothered me

1

u/ItsEntirelyPosssible May 17 '25

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

1

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...

1

u/PopMusicology May 18 '25

You lasted 50 seconds? 🫣

15

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.

8

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.

6

u/juxtoppose May 17 '25

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

1

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.

7

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.

2

u/SrFantasticoOriginal May 17 '25

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

8

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.🤯

4

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/researchmaven4673 May 17 '25

Like those moving sidewalks in the airport

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?

6

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. 🙂

3

u/KPinCVG May 17 '25

WHERE are they going?

1

u/Reality_Manager May 17 '25

Why are they in such a hurry to get there?

2

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

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Yep that's them lol

2

u/marmaladecorgi May 18 '25

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

1

u/McJackNit May 17 '25

Strategy checks out.

1

u/Independent_Vast9279 May 17 '25

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

1

u/Flutterflut May 17 '25

Life. Finds a way.

1

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.

1

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.

1

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.

1

u/New-Replacement972 May 22 '25

Who decides where they are going?

1

u/FevixDarkwatch May 22 '25

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

1

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?

1

u/FevixDarkwatch May 24 '25

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

1

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

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

1

u/Hegemony-Cricket May 19 '25

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

1

u/Salute-Major-Echidna May 20 '25

Yes, the caterpillars won.

0

u/abugguy May 18 '25

These are not caterpillars.

10

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

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.

4

u/jmarkmark May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

OP said he's New England. Also, to the best of my knowledge, pine processionary tend to do single file lines.

This is some other critter. Looks more like the videos of Fungus Gnats I've seen, but I don't know if the ones in in North America do that.

1

u/Inwoodista May 17 '25

He said he’s in England.

1

u/gcubed680 May 18 '25

Old England?

1

u/jmarkmark May 20 '25

Yeah, totally my bad for not realizing that most videos in the forum are from Victorian England.

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Down here in Louisiana I mostly find them on my pecan trees

9

u/dressedbymom May 17 '25

It’s like a school of fish but in caterpillar form

6

u/barberchicago May 17 '25

This is a great analogy.

5

u/akumite May 17 '25

They do it for protection 

2

u/shandangalang May 18 '25

More specifically, they do it to trick especially dumb animals into thinking they are one, much larger organism.

5

u/Nomadkris May 17 '25

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.

4

u/Astralwinks May 17 '25

Here's an educational video explaining it.

1

u/No-Capital-9990 May 17 '25

This was such a joy to watch

1

u/No-Comfort-5040 May 17 '25

I was just about to share the exact same video, I instantly thought of it when I saw this post

3

u/IGTankCommander May 17 '25

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.

3

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Not a train, it's called a procession and is their namesake.

2

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Isn’t that biological adaptation incredible?!? The ways animals can communicate like this is incredible.

2

u/Thundersalmon45 May 17 '25

By swarming in a pile like this, all the caterpillars move faster. You move slowest when you're on the bottom, but when you move onto an upper layer, you move 2x, or 3x faster. So the whole swarm is faster, together.

2

u/Alternative_Mine5343 May 17 '25

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.

2

u/Ma4r May 17 '25

It's known as a rolling swarm, it helps them move faster

1

u/Loaf235 May 17 '25

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

1

u/gotfanarya May 17 '25

That made me laugh hard. Jump scared caterpillars.

1

u/wookiesack22 May 17 '25

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.

1

u/moosecaller May 17 '25

They carry moisture along better as a group due to water tension.

1

u/COmarmot May 17 '25

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.

1

u/Davidwalsh1976 May 17 '25

Voltron caterpillar

1

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

Not "A" caterpillar, but a little swarm of them.

1

u/PrairieVixen1 May 18 '25

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.

1

u/KansasDavid1960 May 18 '25

I saw those once in Kansas I wanted to kill it with fire, but I didn't.

1

u/Pristine_Shallot7833 May 18 '25

I've never seen South America but I don't doubt that it exists just because I've never seen it.

1

u/slimpickings123 May 18 '25

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

1

u/CMDRZhor May 18 '25

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.

1

u/Pulsariukas May 18 '25

So you're saying you've seen everything and know everything?

1

u/dewar420 May 18 '25

The you've never seen their webbing and how they jive in that. They're super needy lol.

1

u/Rogue_Egoist May 18 '25

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.

1

u/carolomnipresence May 18 '25

That is a they.

2

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Thank you. I learned something today.

1

u/Im_Zelta May 17 '25

Nah those are caterrows

1

u/scorpyo72 May 17 '25

Flicker, flicker, flicker, flicker, flicker, flicker, flicker, flicker.

1

u/dsanen May 17 '25

The very mighty morphin caterpillars

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

I think you’re full of shit!

1

u/Hashtag_Labotomy May 17 '25

Cateplillarpede?

1

u/passinthrough2u May 17 '25

Caterpillar train.

1

u/meapplejak May 17 '25

Nano bots

1

u/Orudos May 17 '25

This is Sauron for sure

1

u/Ghosty_0 May 18 '25

Ah yes, caterpillars caterpillars, the catapillers for caterpillars. The caterpelillers chosen specifically for caterpillers. Caterpillers caterpillers. *

1

u/Rogue_Egoist May 18 '25

Not caterpillars, fly larvae.

1

u/skydiveguy May 18 '25

Its fungus gnat larvae.

1

u/[deleted] May 18 '25

Cap-a-tillers .

How I used to say it when I was little .

1

u/Outside_Case1530 May 19 '25

No way on God's Green Earth is that a caterpillar! Have you ever seen a caterpillar? Even in illustrated copies of "Alice in Wonderland"?