# Thousands of bugs have been captured crawling across rural Queensland



## Tish (Apr 13, 2022)

It's giving me the heebie-jeebies!

A swarm of bugs has been seen crawling its way across outback Australia - and all are bizarrely going in the same direction. 

Thousands of slater bugs have been filmed moving across the dirt creating the illusion that the land's surface is shifting. 

In a video posted to Instagram, woodlice, also known as pill bugs and slater bugs, can be seen teeming across the ground in rural Queensland. 







Rural Planning Services supervising scientist, Angela Filardi, captured the video of the mass migration.  

The video posted to her Instagram account, shows waves of slater bugs bizarrely moving across the dirt in the same direction.   

Slater bugs are multi-legged, land-living crustaceans and are typically found in moist environments. 

Despite occupying a form more commonly found in aquatic animals, they are terrestrial and have earned the nickname 'roly-polies' due to their ability to roll into a ball when disturbed.

Full Story


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## JonSR77 (Apr 13, 2022)

Could be they are trying to get to the capitol.  In general, insects love running for office.  Especially Dung Beetles.  But other types as well.

Also, many politicians, facing indictments for corruption, will morph into bugs to avoid capture.


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## Tish (Apr 13, 2022)

JonSR77 said:


> Could be they are trying to get to the capitol.  In general, insects love running for office.  Especially Dung Beetles.  But other types as well.
> 
> Also, many politicians, facing indictments for corruption, will morph into bugs to avoid capture.


Haha, That's hilarious especially because Scomo just called an election.


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## Becky1951 (Apr 14, 2022)

If this is a mass migration that hasn't happened before, I'd pay attention. Weather has been changing so much, why are they leaving their environment for another?


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## Warrigal (Apr 14, 2022)

I'm quite fond of slaters and have been since I discovered them as a child.

Where I live they are grey in colour and avoid the light. They live in compost and leaf litter.

In biblical times this would have been interpreted as an omen. Perhaps it still is ???


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## Tish (Apr 14, 2022)

It could very well be an Omen and I have no doubt that the weather has something to do with it.
That being said with all the floods and droughts fires, and mice plague over the last 10 years I am not surprised.


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## OneEyedDiva (Apr 14, 2022)

JonSR77 said:


> Could be they are trying to get to the capitol.  In general, insects love running for office.  Especially Dung Beetles.  But other types as well.
> 
> Also, many politicians, facing indictments for corruption, will morph into bugs to avoid capture.


Jon.....JON! ROFLM*O!


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## Lara (Apr 14, 2022)

Does anyone know........
.......................................
......................................
.............. Why?..............
......................................
......................................


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## Purwell (Apr 14, 2022)

They are in a hurry as well!


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## Lara (Apr 14, 2022)

I have a wild guess.
Don't panic because I have no idea and I'm no scientist.
But maybe an earthquake is brewing below?
Creature's can sense things we can't...even a tiny little tremor


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## Tish (Apr 14, 2022)

Lara said:


> I have a wild guess.
> Don't panic because I have no idea and I'm no scientist.
> But maybe an earthquake is brewing below?
> Creature's can sense things we can't...even a tiny little tremor


Could very well be.


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## Warrigal (Apr 14, 2022)

Found a fact sheet on those bugs. They are an Australian native species known as Australiodillo bifrons. They are known to swarm and are a threat to grain crops.

Microsoft Word - Document1 (ipmguidelinesforgrains.com.au)


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## Bellbird (Apr 14, 2022)

The snakes will have a feast


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## Lara (Apr 14, 2022)

We also have Roly Poly bugs in the US but I haven't seen them for years. Back in the day when I did see them there weren't many and seemed harmless. I was curious where they all disappeared to but I read that they haven't disappeared. I found this explanation:

"You might have noticed more rollie pollies one season and less the next. It all depends on *dryness and soil quality*. The drier the season, the fewer roly poly bugs you're likely to see. If you have healthy soil, you're also likely to see more of them than you might have a few years ago".

Are you about to experience a dry season there in Australia?


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## Warrigal (Apr 14, 2022)

Lara said:


> We also have Roly Poly bugs in the US but I haven't seen them for years. Back in the day when I did see them there weren't many and seemed harmless. I was curious where they all disappeared to but I read that they haven't disappeared. I found this explanation:
> 
> "You might have noticed more rollie pollies one season and less the next. It all depends on *dryness and soil quality*. The drier the season, the fewer roly poly bugs you're likely to see. If you have healthy soil, you're also likely to see more of them than you might have a few years ago".
> 
> Are you about to experience a dry season there in Australia?


Probably not until the next el Nino arrives. Eastern Australia, especially in the north, has been inundated several times lately. Bad floods.


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## win231 (Apr 14, 2022)

When I was a kid, I think they were called "Sow Bugs."  I'd let them crawl all over me.


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## WheatenLover (Apr 14, 2022)

win231 said:


> When I was a kid, I think they were called "Sow Bugs."  I'd let them crawl all over me.


Why?


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## win231 (Apr 14, 2022)

WheatenLover said:


> Why?


I love all animals & most insects.


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## WheatenLover (Apr 14, 2022)

win231 said:


> I love all animals & most insects.


I am not fond of most insects or rodents or reptiles or spiders. If they are beneficial, then I am fonder of them than I would otherwise be.

No matter how fond I am, I do not intend to let any of them roam around on my body. I would be horrified if that happened. It was horrible enough when my kids had tarantulas and garter snakes. I never touched any of them. Luckily, I had people around who weren't afraid of them. I never let on that they bothered me, in case the boys thought it would be fun to chase me around with them. The boys never did that, but my dog did, when he caught and killed a mouse.

I see a lot of butterflies because they tend to hitch rides on my dog. They don't bother me.


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## Murrmurr (Apr 14, 2022)

When my foster son Paxton lived here, I used a great big jar to make a really cool bug house and we put about a dozen rolly-polies in it. They were kind of fun to watch and fun to feed. After Paxton went to live with his mom, I took the jar over to my son & DIL's house to empty it into their compost and discovered the bugs had loads of babies!


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## Tish (Apr 15, 2022)

Warrigal said:


> Found a fact sheet on those bugs. They are an Australian native species known as Australiodillo bifrons. They are known to swarm and are a threat to grain crops.
> 
> Microsoft Word - Document1 (ipmguidelinesforgrains.com.au)


Yikes, that's not good, but they are only a few weeks early.


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## win231 (Apr 15, 2022)

WheatenLover said:


> I am not fond of most insects or rodents or reptiles or spiders. If they are beneficial, then I am fonder of them than I would otherwise be.
> 
> No matter how fond I am, I do not intend to let any of them roam around on my body. I would be horrified if that happened. It was horrible enough when my kids had tarantulas and garter snakes. I never touched any of them. Luckily, I had people around who weren't afraid of them. I never let on that they bothered me, in case the boys thought it would be fun to chase me around with them. The boys never did that, but my dog did, when he caught and killed a mouse.
> 
> I see a lot of butterflies because they tend to hitch rides on my dog. They don't bother me.


You may not be aware of the benefits of insects, spiders, rodents & reptiles.  All living things have a purpose & a benefit.


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## WheatenLover (Apr 16, 2022)

win231 said:


> You may not be aware of the benefits of insects, spiders, rodents & reptiles.  All living things have a purpose & a benefit.


I'm aware of some of them. But what about wild mice and rats? Wasps? Mosquitos? Komodo dragons?


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## C50 (Apr 16, 2022)

I have been saying for many years that insects will eventually take over the earth....this is just the start!


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## Pepper (Apr 16, 2022)

win231 said:


> When I was a kid, I think they were called "Sow Bugs."  I'd let them crawl all over me.


Were you pretending to be dead?


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## win231 (Apr 16, 2022)

Pepper said:


> Were you pretending to be dead?


No, they just liked me - like all animals.


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