Friday, October 15, 2010

INCREDIBLE CATERPILLAR CONVOY





This is the moment a group of tiny caterpillars formed an incredible 17ft long convoy to cross a road. Some 136 caterpillars made the single line and wriggled top-to-toe across the road, linked by a thin silk thread which set their path. Their safety-in-numbers approach had the desired effect as the slow-moving convoy was easily seen by motorists, who were held up for 20 minutes as it made its way across.

The spectacle was captured on camera by British tourist Jamie Rooney, who was visiting the famous Kruger National Park in South Africa. Rooney stated that they were out on a safari, when all of a sudden the driver shouted out and slammed on his brakes. Luckily he managed to stop just in time.

This amazing trail of caterpillars, was stretching across the road. The guide had never seen it before and explained it as being similar to the migration of bigger game like wildebeest but just on a tiny scale. When the catepillars reach their destination – most possibly the bushes on the other side of the road – they would pupate and turn into butterflies.

Conservation is a massive deal in South Africa and you should stop for any living creature crossing the road.

No comments:

Post a Comment