What on earth is this? (Pic)

WhereDidTheGoodTimesGo · 2023-09-09T12:40:47+00:00

Half way up a wall, as you go up the stairs. Just seems to have appeared! Any clue??!

ItSoundsLikeADrag · 09/09/2023 13:41

a patch of eggs of some sort. I’d not want to wait for them to hatch to find out what laid them!

Whinge · 09/09/2023 13:45

White Ermine moth larvae?

https://www.allaboutworms.com/group-of-gray-spiky-bugs-on-bedroom-wall-are-white-ermine-moth-larvae

Group of Gray, Spiky Bugs on Bedroom Wall are White Ermine Moth Larvae - All About Worms

"I found these bugs in my children's bedroom [...] on the WALL. What are these?" asks this reader, who is a mother of two children. The creatures appear to be gray in color, minuscule in size, with bulbous heads and segmented bodies.

https://www.allaboutworms.com/group-of-gray-spiky-bugs-on-bedroom-wall-are-white-ermine-moth-larvae

Original poster

WhereDidTheGoodTimesGo · 09/09/2023 13:45

ItSoundsLikeADrag · 09/09/2023 13:41

a patch of eggs of some sort. I’d not want to wait for them to hatch to find out what laid them!

Ew ew ew! I'll remove it now, makes me feel like bleaching myself.

OP posts:

Original poster

WhereDidTheGoodTimesGo · 09/09/2023 13:46

Whinge · 09/09/2023 13:45

White Ermine moth larvae?

https://www.allaboutworms.com/group-of-gray-spiky-bugs-on-bedroom-wall-are-white-ermine-moth-larvae

Thank you!!!!! I Googled for ages with no luck - I never thought it might be ALIVE and thought weird mould.

OP posts:

pinkdelight · 09/09/2023 13:47

I've no idea but you need to blast off and nuke it from space!!

Original poster

WhereDidTheGoodTimesGo · 09/09/2023 13:49

pinkdelight · 09/09/2023 13:47

I've no idea but you need to blast off and nuke it from space!!

I know!! I'm not easily icked but my skin is creeping with these now!

OP posts:

longtompot · 09/09/2023 15:27

Don't kill them! Ermine moths are beautiful. This is from the site linked above

It should also be noted that neither the moth, nor the caterpillars are pests; they will not feed on one’s kitchen foods like the pantry moth larva, nor will they feed on one’s clothes like the webbing clothes moth larva. Their diet consists of forest vegetation, so our reader needs not worry about these caterpillars infesting her home for any purpose. For that reason, simply moving the caterpillars outside will suffice in dealing with the problem, and she and her children can sleep easy at night

Ermine moth

White Ermine

A white moth with small black spots on the forewing, however, the number of black spots varies greatly from largely white examples which are almost entirely plain to those with many more spots that may even join together to form streaks along the wing...

https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/white-ermine

Loopytiles · 09/09/2023 15:28

Gotta love MN!

FictionalCharacter · 09/09/2023 15:55

longtompot · 09/09/2023 15:27

Don't kill them! Ermine moths are beautiful. This is from the site linked above

It should also be noted that neither the moth, nor the caterpillars are pests; they will not feed on one’s kitchen foods like the pantry moth larva, nor will they feed on one’s clothes like the webbing clothes moth larva. Their diet consists of forest vegetation, so our reader needs not worry about these caterpillars infesting her home for any purpose. For that reason, simply moving the caterpillars outside will suffice in dealing with the problem, and she and her children can sleep easy at night

Ermine moth

Thank you. I get heartily sick of all the "ew! Burn your house down! Kill it! Bleach it!" on MN about harmless creatures.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 09/09/2023 20:12

Please don't kill them!