Video Of Mysterious ‘Alien’ Moth From Indonesia Goes Viral, Shocks Social Media Users

An unusual-looking moth captured on video by an Indonesian man became a rather timely viral hit in recent days while puzzling, shocking, and even scaring more than a few social media users with just a few days remaining before Halloween.

As noted by Business Insider, the moth video was uploaded on Thursday, October 19, by a Facebook user named Gandik, who had spotted the insect in his home and uploaded a 25-second video featuring the moth in action. The post had quickly gone viral due to the critter’s peculiar appearance and had received almost 200,000 shares and 40,000 comments.

Scores of Facebook users reacted with shock and horror when they saw the moth video from Indonesia, with many wondering what kind of insect Gandik had found. According to the Mirror, there were users who thought that the moth looks more like an alien, with several others joking that the Indonesian man may have to burn his house down or turn his residence over to the unusual creature.

“Give him the keys and tell him the house is yours.”

Though the moth in the Indonesian video does look like a threatening sort, an article from LazerHorse suggests that the insect is relatively harmless to humans despite its weird appearance. The moth is known by the scientific name Creatonotos gangis and is easily identifiable with its mix of red, black, white, and yellow hues, giving it a colorful, if eerie appearance. The Mirror added that the insect happens to be common in Gandik’s home country of Indonesia and can also be found in a number of other Asian countries, as well as in New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.

Footage of mystery giant moth goes viral and people are freaking out…https://t.co/pHRPmBeoF2 pic.twitter.com/05yGiPTB3H

— LADbible (@ladbible) October 24, 2017

As C. gangis‘ tentacles, or coremata, are among the creature’s more unusual physical features, the Mirror also clarified that they are used to emit pheromones to attract prospective mates, with its diet of bitter-tasting, alkaloid-rich plants allowing it to create more tentacles and pheromones.

Despite the insect not posing any danger to people, both LazerHorse and the Mirror stressed that C. gangis had been blamed for the damage it has wrought on pomegranate trees.

Meanwhile, back in Indonesia, the man behind the moth video has become a social media celebrity of sorts, as Facebook users from around the world have taken to commenting on his posts and bringing up his unexpected and still-unusual moth discovery. Gandik’s Facebook profile suggests that the Indonesian man is an animal lover, with his current profile picture featuring the text “My heart belongs to animals.” Several of his Facebook photos and videos show him taking care of a baby civet that was, as of Saturday, 38-days-old.

[Featured Image by goldentakin | Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and resized | CC BY 2.0]