By Tim Binnall
A South Carolina motorist was left scratching his head when he discovered that he had an unnerving 'passenger' in the form of a rather bizarre-looking bug. Tommy Hortman reportedly spotted the curious critter when he returned to his parked truck and noticed the unsettling insect crawling near his window. "It looked alien," the bewildered driver recalled, "like a claymation cross between a squid and a lobster.”
As one is wont to do when encountering something weird in our modern age, Hortman quickly pulled out his phone to film the 'alien' interloper that appeared to sport six legs and a fuzzy body. He subsequently posted the footage online in the hopes of identifying the creature and, as luck would have it, an etymologist who saw his video was able to offer an answer. According to Eric Day of Virginia Tech University, Hortman had encountered the appropriately-named 'hag moth,' specifically the creature's larvae which are colorfully known as a 'monkey slug.'
He also indicated that Hortman was fortunate to have merely filmed the bug rather than attempt to pick it up as the insect boasts a stinging ability that can leave behind an "unpleasant and uncomfortable" reddish rash on the skin of humans. "I wouldn't go near it if I could avoid it," the insect expert said about the monkey slug, which should make the motorist feel better about being left uneasy by the diminutive, but freaky-looking, creature.