Mystery surrounds unusual tree discovery 'freaking' Aussies out
A NSW woman was leaving the beach when she spotted the strange object hanging from a tree branch.
A strange tennis ball-sized object found hanging off a tree branch at a popular Aussie beach has left one woman “freaked out” and searching for answers. The Newcastle resident was enjoying an afternoon swim with her dog on Sunday when a “massive thing” resembling some sort of insect nest caught her eye.
“I don’t know if it’s grown there or if its got birds or something in it but it’s freaking me out,” she said on TikTok before asking locals if they have any idea what it could possible be. “I didn’t touch it but I tapped it and it seems solid. Help a sister out.”
He does think joked the growth looked like “surf board wax”, several others claimed it is a praying mantis’s egg sack. HHowever, after viewing the footage, Professor Dieter Hochuli told Yahoo News Australia he was pretty sure the nest didn’t belong to the leggy insect because it’s too big and not as “foamy” as usual.
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Mystery insect hiding inside gall growing on tree
He does, however, think another creature is probably responsible for the gall — an abnormal growth caused by insects, fungus, bacteria or a virus that occurs on the leaves, stems and branches of various plants.
“Often described as being similar to a benign tumour, insects form galls in plants and they use them as a place to live and to eat. There’s almost certainly an insect inside that gall,” he explained, describing the growth seen at Newcastle as impressively large.
“Most of them are much smaller than that but they are really common in nature. If you look at a lot of leaves of eucalypts and acacias in Australia you will often find little bumps and growths on them.”
Professor Hochuli said insects “initiate the development of the weird growth through their saliva”, causing the plant’s cells to change and “develop into a surprisingly complex structure”.
“It’s a very successful lifestyle because it removes the chances of being eaten by something else, and it also provides [the insect] with food.”
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