Homeowner shocked to find a bizarre-looking ‘platypus’ insect inside her house – but can you guess what it is?
- A Noosa resident has uncovered a bizarre-looking insect inside her home
- Bree Kelly took to Facebook in the hope someone could identify the creature
- The insect was revealed to be a mole cricket, or ‘the platypus of the insect world’
A woman was shocked to discover a bizarre looking platypus-like insect inside her Queensland home.
Bree Kelly took photos of the unusual looking creature and uploaded the snaps to a public Facebook group in the hope someone was able to identify the type of insect she stumbled across at her house in Noosa.
‘Any ideas what in God’s name this creature is… I assume an insect but it has… hands?,’ Ms Kelly asked.
‘First time I’ve seen one in 3.5 years of living here. I’m not sure whether to find them cool or horrifying though.’
Queenslander Bree Kelly posted photos of this insect she found in her home to Facebook, which was later revealed to be a mole cricket
Ms Kelly was inundated with answers, including tongue-in-cheek comments such as ‘a transformer’, ‘this is an alien for sure’ and ‘Edward scissorcricket’.
Although most respondents were able to reveal the creature was a mole cricket, often described as ‘the platypus of the insect world’ because they both look like a conglomeration of different animals.
‘I initially said it was like a platypus in terms of a “hybrid” looking animal but the weird snout bit and webbed “hands” made me think it looks that way too,’ Ms Kelly said.
An article in Australian Geographic noted: ‘On the front end, it looks like a mole, with its dark, beady eyes, and those shovel-like forelimbs equipped with mighty black claws.
‘On the back end, it looks like a cricket, with cute little fairy wings and a long, cigar-shaped body.’
Others revealed on Facebook they had also come across a mole cricket inside their home.
‘I just had two in my house. They must be on the move,’ one person said.
Another added: ‘I just saw one for the first time a few nights ago! Yuk!! It touched me! I screamed!’, while a third said ‘I also had one in the house other night, and it could fly!’.
Ms Kelly said she and her housemate ‘were playing “mammal or insect” before closer inspection’.
‘(I) wish someone had recorded my reaction when my housemate showed me… mixture of horror and disbelief,’ she said.
She later added: ‘Thanks everyone for the replies – I’m reassured it isn’t an alien being, mutant or deadly. Unsure whether to be amazed or horrified and hope he and his handsy mates stay in the garden indefinitely’.
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