Photo: Rick Thompson
Photo: John Howard
Photo: Igor Siwanowicz
Photo: Igor Siwanowicz
No, this isn’t a Swarovski crystal creation, but it very well could be! Instead, it’s a Spun Glass Caterpillar (Isochaetes beutenmuelleri) that has dozens of glittering, almost frosty-looking, spines radiating from its body. Don’t be tempted by its beautiful crystalline gaze, though. Those puppies do sting. You’ll want to look, but definitely don’t touch!
Reminds me of when your parents took you to an antique shop when you were little and you were told DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING. Then, you proceeded to secretly touch everything, especially the glass stuff. One time, I ended up breaking something – that was a more of a sting for my parents than for me, though.
Photo: Rick Thompson
If you look closely at the photo above, you’ll notice that you can see right through this creature! That dark green stripe running down the length of its body is actually its stomach.
Ultimately, it’s strange how these truly incredible spun glass caterpillars can transform into such plain Jane adults. Gotta grow up sometime and lose all your mystical qualities… I guess…
Photo: Eric Gofreed
*my spirit is spun of glass*
