Sometimes nature’s greatest surprises show up when you least expect them — and they might be right under your nose (or, in this case, your porch railing).
The other day in Alabama, Bella, a college student and self-proclaimed insect lover, was relaxing at home when something unusual caught her eye.
“There was this tiny stick poking out from under the railing,” Bella’s mom, Corey Danielle Hollis, told The Dodo. “She thought, ‘That stick should not be sticking there like that.’”
Curious, Bella leaned in for a closer look — and instantly realized something was off. The “stick” seemed to be defying gravity.
And then … it moved.
It wasn’t a stick at all.
To Bella’s amazement, it was a caterpillar, cleverly disguised to look exactly like a twig.
“I picked him up and let him crawl up my arm,” Bella said. “He was inching along like an inchworm — and then he stood straight up again!”
The little creature, believed to be the larva of an oak beauty moth, had completely fooled everyone with his masterful camouflage. For predators, this disguise could be the difference between life and lunch.
But for Bella, it was a moment of pure fascination.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Hollis said.
After snapping a few photos, Bella gently placed the caterpillar onto an oak tree — where he promptly vanished again into the bark and branches.
It was as if he’d never been there at all.
Had he not decided to explore the porch that day, Bella might never have noticed him — a tiny reminder of just how much magic nature hides in plain sight.
