Ok, this is pretty gross.

OK - I admit. I am terrified by don't like moths as it is. But this makes me creeped out by them even more than the sucking blood bit:


Source: DailyMail
What you're looking at was formerly known as a Honda. It's been attacked by (by my guess, hundreds of thousands of) spindle ermine moth larvae (adult on R). These voracious moths-to-be spin a silk web over their feeding areas to protect themselves from ants and wasps. Normally, a silk blanket like this would be on a tree or other plant-life where the caterpillars are feeding before they pupate, but this unlucky motorist from Rotterdam has learned the hard way that they don't just stick to trees, and will protect themselves no matter where they end up in the search for more food. The unfortunate owner likely got his car targeted because he left it there a little too long (such an infestation would have taken a few days) and the caterpillar's favorite tree - the spindle - is frequently used in parking lots and for lining motorways.

Getting caught in one of these guy's webs? Now that sounds like my personal nightmare. I'm cringing at the thought alone.

More like this

Since the science of humor is in the news today, I thought I'd point out an interesting tidbit from a recent Cerebral Cortex paper:
Yes I wrote about centrosome kissing and then ... another paper appears in Nature Cell Biology. But this time it's not in mammalian cells but in yeast. Remember what I once said:
At that same meeting over the past weekend, I heard Tim Mitchison give an interesting talk about mitosis and pharmacogenetics. For any of you who don't know, Tim's lab has been at the fore front of analyzing how the mitotic spindle operates.

Wow, I'd hate to have that happen to me!