Family baffled after mysterious 'alien mass' appears on their driveway
A mysterious congregation of minuscule creatures has bamboozled a Sydney family after they appeared on their driveway.
Lisa Graham took to Facebook on Wednesday to share footage of “millions” of small insects she described as an “alien mass” at her home in Sydney’s south.
A man narrating the mysterious discovery reveals the family initially believed the dark patch was paint or dust but on closer inspection they realised its true identity.
“When I’ve looked closer, it’s millions of something” the man says.
“It’s bizarre! I’ve never seen anything like it!”
And members of the Everything Sutherland Shire Facebook group were equally baffled by the discovery.
“God, there are millions!” one user proclaimed.
“Kill them. With fire!” another joked.
Others tried to help identify the species responsible, with the general consensus pointing towards springtails.
Entomologists across Australia concurred with the online identification, with the University of Sydney’s Dr Cameron Webb confident the remarkable sighting was the work of springtails.
Entomologist and senior curator at Museums Victoria, Dr Ken Walker, confirmed to Yahoo7 News the species was springtails, noting they are not insects but the closely related “hexapods”.
“Springtails occur in the garden where they feed on fungus and decaying vegetable material,” he revealed.
Dr Walker said the rare phenomenon was thanks to a higher moisture content in gardens, most likely from recent rain.
“Spring is the time when we tend to see these mass springtail migrations. They are either for mating purposes or they may be moving on mass looking for areas in the garden with a higher moisture content,” he said.
He noted springtails pose no risk to humans or their properties.
“I wish I had such a spectacular mass migration of springtails on my front driveway!” he added.
It’s not the first time a Sydney resident has taken to social media to try an identify a mysterious creature at their home after one St Clair man asking for help online after spotting a cocoon protruding from his home.
