A Queensland snake catcher got a lot less than he bargained for when he got the call to investigate some hissing sounds at a house in Townsville, in Far North Queensland.
James Bindoff, from Townsville Snake Catcher, said he took a call this morning from a very worried local at Heatley.
The caller had heard a loud hissing sound coming from a dog cage outside their property and thought it was coming from a large python.
But – when Bindoff went to investigate – there was no reptile in sight, just a very vocal rhinocerous beetle.
“It’s only an inch and a half but you can hear it hiss from 10 metres away.
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“Which is why they thought it was a big snake.”
A snake is hiding somewhere in this picture. Can you see it?
The beetle was relocated to a neighbouring tree to continue its life cycle.
The insects only breed for two to four months during their adult stages and die shortly after laying their eggs in rooting wood, Bindoff explained.
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