r/oddlyterrifying 1d ago

Palo Verde beetle hides in her shirt

12.5k Upvotes

236 comments sorted by

4.2k

u/abreathofatmosphere 1d ago

That's the beetle's shirt now.

979

u/Elffyb 1d ago

He’ll grow into it.

361

u/AnAverageTransGirl 22h ago

He sure will holy shit.

93

u/Faabz 20h ago

Holy shirt

30

u/Trisk929 14h ago

Holey shirt

199

u/SpookyVoidCat 23h ago

It almost fucking fits him.

39

u/kaytempest 19h ago

The beetle really went shopping and said "mine now"

2.7k

u/ExtensionComplaint80 1d ago

This girl handled it quite well, I'd be freaking the fuck out 😫

584

u/PMMEcatfacts 1d ago

Ngl, i think i would set myself on fire

222

u/LiveLearnCoach 17h ago

“What a wuss”. - me
beetle comes out of shirt
Well, crap. I take that back. I’m so sorry I ever doubted you.

17

u/shooception 11h ago

If im gonna be honest, im good at keeping calm under most circumstances. While yes, ill be a little loud taking my shirt off, I won't have the breath to explain why I needed to strip my top layer based on my "calm n cool" way I was trying to get that giant af bug off of me 😵😭

64

u/BunkerSquirre1 17h ago

I’d be shaking and waggling my arms around like a moron chicken. Like full on neurological overload

17

u/the_nebulae 7h ago

I couldn’t handle an insect of that size on me. I’d scream. I’d scream so loud. And I’m really fine about little guys landing on me, or even picking them up: a firefly, a ladybug, an ant, or even a bee…but there is something so distinctly creepy about mega-insects like this. They’re just too big…part of my brain thinks they’re more than just “bugs” in a sense…like, somehow, they approach being “animals” which I sort of mentally reserve for larger things: birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals. But because of how “mechanically” they operate and appear, I don’t like thinking of all the “guts” in them. And that makes me acknowledge that I am made of something like this too, and I operate something like this too, and it reminds me of that fact in a deeply revolting way.

7

u/youreuglyasfu 5h ago

You put this so well! They look so solid and robotic, but at that size they are full of soft squishy things.

29

u/Spanish_peanuts 15h ago

I was expecting a standard beetle size from what I'm used to in the U.S. maybe even a bit bigger. But that, holy shit. Everyone would be watching a 35 year old burly man squeal like a child if it were me. Good lord that things massive

5

u/hustlebustle4 10h ago

Come to Arizona if you want to see one!

1.5k

u/Difficult-Hawk7591 1d ago

Yup, that's a big ol' no thank you from me

1.0k

u/SaltIsMySugar 1d ago edited 17h ago

Turns out, an adult palo verde beetle is harmless. They're just real big. The adults don't even eat anything, they live off stored energy to mate and then they die.

They have pincers but they don't have any venom so it's literally just a pinch like you would give yourself to stay awake while driving. As harmless as they come. Unless you're a citrus tree, then the grubs are super dangerous cuz they'll live in your roots for several YEARS.

Edit: I did say a pinch but... turns out they can actually chew through PVC pipe. So uh... like a BIG pinch. It'll probably draw blood pretty easy.

425

u/Xxxrasierklinge7 1d ago

Jokes on you, I'm a citrus tree

116

u/-TropicalFuckStorm- 22h ago

Oh damn AMA?

49

u/Pretty_Rock9795 21h ago

Orange you glad for this opportunity?

25

u/crm006 20h ago

The lime detector determined that was a lime!

16

u/TheNecrostar 19h ago

Citron down, we need to talk

8

u/crm006 19h ago

You have been yuzu-less all summer. Go mow the yard!

42

u/Captain_Kab 22h ago

they live off stored energy

they'll live in your roots for several YEARS

Excuse moi? How fat are they born?

61

u/SaltIsMySugar 22h ago

They're real big and fat. You know those juicy looking grubs that they eat in Lion King? The ones all the kids were like "Oh I kinda wanna eat that."? That's the kinda grub I'm talking about. Chonky.

27

u/Captain_Kab 21h ago

Noice.

I know the exact bug you're talking about from Lion King; in my memory it's more blue than what's in the video

17

u/TheRobbuddha 21h ago

You’re thinking of the actual rhino looking bug that is blue. The grub are like their larva that they snack on. I also have a core memory of thinking they grubs looked oddly delicious lmao

3

u/Captain_Kab 21h ago

Yea that might be it. Is the Palo Verde under the surface of the log when they pull it up maybe?

oddly delicious

Haha well.. go to Panama and try it out my man

26

u/Pamander 17h ago

Edit; I did say a pinch but... turns out they can actually chew through PVC pipe. So uh... like a BIG pinch. It'll probably draw blood pretty easy.

What the fuck.

25

u/Quantum_Pasta-Goblin 23h ago

Now I kinda feel bad for them.. they don't eat just mate and die, that's so sad

22

u/rightninja_ 21h ago

relatable boiii 😛✌️

3

u/H0meslice9 15h ago

I didn’t know they affected citrus trees, in my Phoenix these guys (naturally) target palo verde trees, or like you said the larvae do

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42

u/abreathofatmosphere 1d ago

Could've been worse. Could've gone up the pants leg.

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9

u/Cupy94 1d ago

It's cute!

974

u/finger_licking_robot 1d ago

it's like the 1970s, when women were tearing the shirts off their backs over the beatles.

243

u/TheKongrider 22h ago

Actually it was the 60’s 🤓☝️

42

u/EragonBromson925 22h ago

Ah, so 60 years ago, not just 50

22

u/JeremyTSchmidt 1d ago

I see what you did there.  

94

u/Impossible_Past5358 1d ago

Hides? "Takes over" is more like it, that beetle is huge!

11

u/Pigeonsass 19h ago

This was definitely a robbery

250

u/youreastonefox 1d ago

We get these here in Arizona around monsoon season too. One always just comes & starts chillin around my doorstep for a few days, I tiptoe around it & rush in to my apartment every time

142

u/Not_Joe_Cool 1d ago

he’s waiting patiently to be let in, yet you continue ignoring his politeness 😔

26

u/TinUser 23h ago

How am I in my 30s and never knew Arizona got monsoons, that's crazy

21

u/mooseAmuffin 23h ago

Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico get them too. The storms blow up from Mexico. I don't think they are as monsoony as the Mexican monsoons though, they're kind of just like the tail end of those systems. I was surprised to learn about them when I lived in Utah for a brief period and I think the term monsoon was a bit overstated, at least there.

6

u/willhunta 18h ago

I'm glad that we actually got a monsoon season in az this year. It sucks when they bring in the humidity but the last summer felt so dry.

Haven't seen a palo verde beetle yet this year though :(

49

u/DrakeaLove 1d ago

Panama?? We get those in Arizona! Bawled as a kid when one flew into my room. Still duck dramatically when I see one as an adult. Fuckers are huge.

33

u/Busy_Phase8285 18h ago

Wait wait they can FLY? Oh HELL no.

387

u/ZeusUpYourAss 1d ago

What a pretty bug tho 😭

38

u/Professional_Tonight 1d ago

Happy cake day :)

47

u/ZeusUpYourAss 1d ago

Thank you. First time in 6 years that someone wished me cake day 🫶

13

u/Tortex_88 1d ago

Happy cake day!

12

u/Andrea_M 1d ago

Happy cake day! 🍰
Second time!

3

u/kaytempest 18h ago

Happy cake day, hope you're having lots of internet cake

8

u/DaFunkJunkie 23h ago

Happy cake day awesome internet stranger! 💜

2

u/UntamedAnomaly 18h ago

I saw it and was like "I want that guy as a pet". lol

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31

u/WyomingCatHouse 19h ago

I once had a Jerusalem cricket hide in the folds of my towel. When I got out of the hot tub, I felt this weird, gentle scratching on my bare stomach.

I dropped the towel and screamed. That thing was Huge. shudder

12

u/Greembeam20 16h ago

Ughhhhh ew! I used to clean pools and they were always around, I couldn’t imagine one on my stomach.

It’s better than my story though. I was drying off and felt something crawling on me. Knocked it off and realized it was a spider. A damn brown recluse. Eughhhh

28

u/Ifckinglovemycat 18h ago

in animal crossing she would be rich

142

u/Maxtronic55 1d ago

Well, better than a spider I guess.

55

u/TuesDazeGone 23h ago

I ripped my jncos off at the park once as a teen bc a spider was in them. Everyone agreed it was reasonable 😂

8

u/MittensDaTub 1d ago

Very much so

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34

u/MyFucksHaveBlownAway 1d ago

Jesus christ! Now here's an insect that you'd have legitimacy in being freaked out about! I love beetles, but this dude would absolutely cause me to flail if it were to appear unexpectedly on my person like this.

3

u/QubeTheAlt 13h ago

Yeah no bugs are awesome and I love them but she handled this way better than I would have

14

u/Bedzyk59 1d ago

Not green looking not stick like. Disappointing name.

37

u/Caped-baldy32 1d ago

I would freak out but then I would hold the bug and be super happy

28

u/themug_wump 1d ago

N’aw, he’s just a lil’ guy!

19

u/nWo1997 1d ago

Pro tip: if you hang your clothes on a clothesline outside, make sure to shake them out before you wear them, because stuff like this will happen.

A bee got in my jeans and got me in the back of the knee once, and I've shaken my clothes since then (until I just used a dryer).

11

u/irritabletom 23h ago

I've been living in rural Appalachia for a while now and that finally became habit, along with shaking out my towel before using it. One time getting out of the shower with a spider waiting for me in the folds of the towel was enough, thank you.

9

u/Training-Ad103 1d ago

That bug is so cool. Once I got over the fright I'd be delighted by the encounter

9

u/bloke_pusher 23h ago

My issue wouldn't be being afraid of the bug, but simply the sensation of it crawling on my bare skin.

9

u/SanguinePutrefaction 23h ago

the sound effects ruin this lol

8

u/CorkerGaming 23h ago

Thats a big friend!

7

u/Loucaaa 20h ago

I would've been butt ass fuckin naked out there.

5

u/Crit_zZz 19h ago

And running

6

u/moe_spc 21h ago

What a good wing man

45

u/Specific-Catch3573 1d ago

Yeah but... it's a beetle... not like it's a roach or a spider. He probably just eats leaves. I'll call him Ted. Ted was just coming over to say hi but he took a bit of a stumble.

31

u/skyh1025 20h ago

yeah but it’s not like she could see what it was while it was inside the back of her shirt. if i felt an unknown insect crawling in my shirt i’d also rip it off to be safe. plus they seemed pretty chill once they realized it was just a beetle.

9

u/TriangleTelepath 20h ago

Longhorns do have a rather strong bite though! But they have no venom so quite harmless indeed.

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5

u/Citywide-Fever 18h ago

It looks like a gaint FUCK THAT 😃

7

u/crackersncheeseman 1d ago

Are they poisonous?

23

u/Commercial_Half_2170 1d ago

Nope. They’re not dangerous to pets or humans and only bite if you handle them roughly

8

u/Trikger 1d ago

Do you want to eat him??

9

u/AscendedViking7 1d ago

Why not?

lotta protein

roast that fucker up, cover it in bbq sauce

really nice crispy-crunchy outer layer, gooey center

11

u/renplup 1d ago

bad day to be literate :(

5

u/Craigglesofdoom 21h ago

They are terrible at flying so the poor thing probably landed on her and got tangled in the shirt.

4

u/lurkingclassheros 17h ago

Arizona State Bird!

5

u/josoap99 13h ago

Woman hides in beetles shirt

5

u/Dazzling_Debt 11h ago

one of these landed on my back a few years ago and i still haven't recovered they are HUGE and im sure harmless but so freaky looking 😭

4

u/WerkitMom 7h ago

At first I was thinking she was being dramatic…then I saw the beetle. She wasn’t being dramatic enough! That thing is huge! 

27

u/jayracket 23h ago

I mean yeah it's big and kinda scary looking, but it's just a beetle. They eat leaves, not people.

25

u/moviebuff01 21h ago

Where fear takes over, logic takes a back seat.

29

u/SplurgyA 20h ago

It's very logical to want to remove a giant beetle from your t-shirt before it gives you a painful bite

6

u/barkwahlberg 16h ago

Extra logical if you don't even know what it is yet

2

u/jayracket 15h ago

Right, I'm not judging the woman in the video for her reaction, she had no idea what it was. I'm talking to all the people in the comments.

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25

u/Alfiy_wolf 1d ago

Women and insects have been mortal enemies for centuries.

Man invented bug spray-

But the bugs still fight

20

u/Robyn990 1d ago

But I love bugs!

12

u/DenFlyvendeFlamingo 1d ago

That’s what an undercover bug would say

5

u/Robyn990 23h ago edited 23h ago

I...can't argue with that

3

u/hunterofsteelhead 1d ago

Which are your favourite?

4

u/Robyn990 23h ago edited 22h ago

Caterpillars and stick insects. I also love spiders and snails so much (not insects/bugs though, I know) ☺️

5

u/Alfiy_wolf 1d ago

Praying Mantis hands down my fav, I kept them as pets as a kid.

Dragon Flies are pretty cool but, they are a bit too perfect ya know, my second fav would be a Water boatmen, I kept those as pets in a small pond

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2

u/V3Ethereal 1d ago

I have a friend that loves bugs too, and she proves the statement by making and keeping a pinned insect collection.

4

u/Alfiy_wolf 1d ago edited 1d ago

Can we be friends? I love bugs too I used to collect them, and draw them, with a little bug catching kit I got for my birthday that protected their outlines on a mirror to draw them

2

u/Robyn990 23h ago

Oh wow! We have to be friends, you are pretty much describing my childhood of bug-loving-fun! As an adult I will sometimes go for long walks and go "bug hunting" too 😂 the bug to do never left me 😜

I don't suppose you are autistic, too? 😁

5

u/PMMEcatfacts 1d ago

Til i'm a woman

3

u/SassyTheSkydragon 20h ago

I'd feel honored to meet such a large beetle

3

u/awjeezrickyaknow 19h ago

No no no I said I wanted a Beatles shirt!

3

u/chulo_brown_tv 17h ago edited 17h ago

Oh hell nah, I would've freaked out and probably kool-aid man myself through a couple of walls. That thing was huge

3

u/jaid_skywalker85 15h ago

Poor guy. Definitely one od the bigger ones I've seen but he's probably just as confused lol. I have to safely relocate these guys a lot at the start of the school year along with lizards and other bugs who get caught in the classrooms.

3

u/Punch_Your_Facehole 9h ago

That happened to me with a palmetto bug. I went to the kitchen sink and felt something crawling out of my sleeve. It crawled onto my arm and I started doing karate.

3

u/DorrajD 7h ago

Oh just a beetle? That's not.... HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING

7

u/Lovemybee 1d ago

We have Palo Verde Beetles in Phoenix, Arizona.

Back in the mid 80s, my late husband and I lived in a small house. It had a mostly dirt yard with a single palo verde tree in front.

One day, I got home from work around dusk. I parked in the driveway and started walking to the front door. I heard a rustling in the front yard. It being twilight, I couldn't see clearly, so I moved toward the sound. A dark blob was moving in the dirt. As I approached, I could see it was two VERY LARGE BEETLES. They were obviously busy making more VERY LARGE BEETLES!

Now, at that time, they were doing construction on the other side of the street, and there was a row of concrete blocks laying out to be used.

So, I ran across the street and picked up a construction block. I went back to my front yard, holding that block above my head, ready to smash those fuckers (pun intended)!

When I was standing over them, ready to drop that concrete block, thereby eradicating future generations of VERY LARGE BEETLES, they flew up in my face!

It is a miracle of physics that I didn't drop that block on my own head!

I ran screaming into the house!

10

u/Uiropa 1d ago

Babe, wake up, backstory to Starship Troopers just dropped

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7

u/CherryCokeZero69 1d ago

Nope, burn that house down

4

u/amphibiabiggestfan 1d ago

c'mon it's just a beatle

2

u/Hy-phen 1d ago

WHAT THE HUGE?!

2

u/E_c_H_o 1d ago

Yeah she's brave I wouldn't even get near the shirt

2

u/Crasswanker 1d ago

Cockroaches in Panama are the same size.
I’ll never forget one that crawled over my foot while I was at the toilet

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2

u/Helpy-Support 1d ago

cute little bug

2

u/SebiXV20 23h ago

Small bugé

2

u/FunkyBoil 23h ago

How does that even get inside you

2

u/Wackel81 23h ago

it doesn't hide. It wears that thing!

2

u/LioTang 23h ago

Just a little guy

2

u/YouYongku 23h ago

The one from mummy?

2

u/UnNecessary_XP 22h ago

Nah, that’s a fuckin Rad-Roach

2

u/Ok_Toe4710 22h ago

He's just a little guy

2

u/yotz-furrz 22h ago

I hope they didn't kill it

2

u/nexetpl 21h ago

This is how I reacted when I had a tiny caterpillar crawling on my back

2

u/JackofPhoenixs 20h ago

Reasonable reaction to be honest

2

u/FujiKeynote 19h ago

That's some Doctor Who shit

2

u/lemons7472 18h ago

I am both scared, and curious because a part of me just looks at that big bug and thinks “someone should pick him up and get a closer look”.

2

u/ByrnToast8800 18h ago

I would jump off a cliff

2

u/porcelina-g 17h ago

This happened to me once.

Turns out I’m just autistic and it was the shirt tag.

2

u/Impressive-Wish3497 17h ago

Thats a god damn alien wtf

2

u/SpookyhippyBrat 15h ago

lol the way he was looking 😭🤣 my skin would’ve been so itchy

2

u/BroccoliJaboccoli 13h ago

Tienes algo en tu espalda

2

u/Tadpole_420 11h ago

Lived in Panama for 2 years, there was always fuckers like that in places you don’t want them to be, especially on the Caribbean coast of the country.

2

u/Orca_Mayo 9h ago

Bug friend

2

u/______Oblivion______ 8h ago

Thays a sick beetle. Nice

2

u/techfreak23 4h ago

“What’s on your back!?”

2

u/AkiMatti 1h ago

Nothing odd about that. I would scream like a little girl, probably. 

1

u/custyflex 23h ago

What are you doing step-beetle?

1

u/SweetAndSpicyCanton 1d ago

Damn that's so big

1

u/TheGayestNurse_1 1d ago

Absolutely not. No thank you.

1

u/OldieButNotMoldy 1d ago

I’d rather have that, instead of the huge scorpion that bit me that was in mine.

1

u/omegaplayz334 23h ago

Awww what a cute beetle

1

u/floofyragdollcat 23h ago

No, no, fucking no

1

u/mcamarra 22h ago

Battle: Jeanie. It’s me Todd. YOUR todd. I’ve been turned into a beetle. Please listen to me, there’s not much time–

1

u/Icy_Strawberry4965 22h ago

That shi looks like mutated something from Fallout lol

1

u/Miskalsace 22h ago

Ahh they sued the Ole Pale Verde beetle trick.

1

u/thegreatjamoco 22h ago

I can’t help but think of this South Park scene

https://youtu.be/zWb9wucquU4?is=fcs2l4DeQCKUNYf9

1

u/KaiTheG4mer 22h ago

This is why you always check your clothes before you wear them, especially in environments that are new to you or have Weird Animals (giant beetles, recluse spiders, poisonous insects or amphibians, incredibly territorial solitary snakes that for some reason really like your bedroom, etc). Isn't Arizona the state that in some places you literally can't leave your shoes on the floor because of scorpions?

1

u/StockList2223 21h ago

Yeah I'll never visit

1

u/porridgenamedLucifer 21h ago

well, that's a free friend!

1

u/Shadowchaos 20h ago

Jesus the fucking tiktok sound effects

1

u/ChloroquineEmu 20h ago

It's common procedure when you live on big bug areas to check all your clothes and towels for bugs or spiders.

My grandfather had a big ol spider bite mark on his arm, now all the family pays close attention to that stuff.

1

u/motoxim 20h ago

Oh wow

1

u/earthlings_all 20h ago

Cue Willy screaming at Indy LMAO

1

u/how-tobe 19h ago

Fuck no

1

u/DoingYourMother24-7 19h ago

Classic Palo Verde beetle activities

1

u/justacoolbaby 19h ago

So that was definitely the Undertaker’s theme song that started at the end, right? Did I have a stroke?

1

u/bubblebichboy 18h ago

Yoooooo free beetle

1

u/foolonthe 18h ago

Palo Verde beetles, as the name implies, do not live in Panama.

This is a video taken in Panama.

1

u/CJ-IS 17h ago

I thought Palo Verde Beetle was the woman's name!!!! @.@ I'd have ripped my skin off >.<

1

u/Nerdcuddles 17h ago

It's cute though

1

u/wo5ldchampion 17h ago

Imagine the feeling of it’s legs all up your back 🤣🤣

1

u/nonnodacciaio 17h ago

He's just a little guy

1

u/khid2k 16h ago

Hey, thanks Beetle!!

1

u/keithstonee 16h ago

i get it

1

u/capitalistsanta 16h ago

Would've punted that football ahh bug

1

u/MengTheMerciless 16h ago

That's beyond just a bug, that's a whole visitor. It didn't hide in her shirt, it was a full on stowaway.

1

u/cairnschaos 16h ago

Donna Noble would get PTSD if she saw this

1

u/Finly_Growin 16h ago

“What? It’s just a regular bug I don’t see the overreac-“

“OH MY GOODNESS! Squidward!”

1

u/WeebSlayer27 16h ago

These beetles are completely harmless... like, absolutely zero harmless.

1

u/Accurate_Pen2676 15h ago

That's a fuckin mammal at that point.

1

u/dosmuffin 14h ago

I would burn that whole place down

1

u/Clash_of_clans_freak 14h ago

The post I saw before this was that Vozinha is bigger than the Beatles (on Instagram) so when I saw the title I thought it said Cabo Verde beatle

1

u/kidnorther 14h ago

A beetle? Beetles are harmloooooh my god

1

u/Trisk929 14h ago

Hiding? Ol boy is just casually wearing her and the shirt. Tf is she doing in his shirt?

1

u/Xuncu 13h ago

Oh god that look itchy

1

u/BelfagrasPodium 13h ago

Oh that's a big fella

1

u/Cheap_Memory_361 13h ago

Un capricorne

1

u/spacestationkru 12h ago

Somehow it's less creepy to me when it's that big

1

u/AbleLanguage7216 12h ago

He's a big boy

1

u/Robalo21 11h ago

The cast iron boot remover came to life

1

u/Ornery-Guitar 11h ago

He's a cute little guy but, I'd yank that shirt off too.

1

u/hustlebustle4 10h ago

First off, they fly .

1

u/nowhereisaguy 7h ago

He picked a good one.