Aussies stunned by weird find in pond: 'What in the world?'

Australia is filled with many weird and wonderful creatures — in fact, it's estimated there are between two to three hundred thousand different species of wildlife in the country, most of which are found here and nowhere else.

While many of us can name our mammals — though unlikely all of them with over 250 to choose from — when it comes to bugs and the like, things get a little complex. Online this week, one Victorian resident shared their confusion after spotting quite a unique sea of purple in a pond at the Macedon Ranges in Victoria.

At first glance the mass appears almost similar to dried lavender, or as the local put it, "pollen that somehow got into the pond". But "upon closer inspection", the wildlife enthusiast said "[I] realised they were moving". "What in the world is this?" the puzzled poster asked on social media.

Aussies confused after 'moving' purple 'clump' appears in pond

Footage shows thousands of tiny creatures wriggling about in the body of water, clumped together in a massive heap. Responding, people had quite a variety of theories.

"What am I looking at and what dimension is it from?" one person asked. "Red mite — they bite and are seriously itchy and nasty," another theorised. "Something is wrong with your Coco Pops," another person rather unhelpfully joked.

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, entomologist at Sydney University Dr Tom White set the record straight. He explained the strange mass is in fact "definitely a clump of springtails".

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Mysterious, tiny springtails can stop trains

Interestingly, these creatures are "very closely related to insects, but aren’t actually insects themselves", White said. "As to why they sometimes aggregate in very large numbers like we’re seeing there, it’s not terribly well known," he added.

"There is fair reason to think it has something to do with mating and egg-laying, and that pheromones — smelly chemicals — are involved to attract others to the gathering. On occasion it may also relate to mass-movement and migration too. There are old reports of them gathering in such vast numbers — into the millions — that they gum up train tracks and halt trains."

In contrast to somebody's earlier suggestion, White insisted the little springtails are "completely harmless to people though" and they "spend most of their time doing the vital work of breaking down decaying matter".

"They’re very cute if you can get up close too — they earned their name by having mechanical springs attached to their butts, which they use to flip their way out of danger," he said.

"So if you see one, or a few hundred thousand, just leave them to their work and enjoy the show!"

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