tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post3763116124946565538..comments2024-03-22T21:58:18.933+00:00Comments on ShukerNature: GOOSEBERRY WIFE - OR CATERPILLAR COLLECTIVE?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15628598508836601012noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-28836650798175619572019-12-30T21:41:31.351+00:002019-12-30T21:41:31.351+00:00It's eight years on, but I recently saw a vide...It's eight years on, but I recently saw a video of a shrew caravan and immediately remembered this old article. <br /><br />When moving about, families of shrews will often stay together by clinging to each others' tails. Though often illustrated in nature books, you really need to see one of these caravans in motion to appreciate how much they can resemble a furry snake or giant, hyperkinetic caterpillar, with the larger mother shrew as the head and her smaller offspring forming a narrow, elongated body trailing after her- sometimes with many pairs of stubby little feet visible.<br /><br /><br />https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/00000160-08d2-d4ef-afe9-ccdb3d6d0000<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr6-3KhNlM4<br /><br />Andrew Onoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-3557892099202842982012-09-10T12:20:11.640+01:002012-09-10T12:20:11.640+01:00It reminds me of the alpine "Heerwurm"/&...It reminds me of the alpine "Heerwurm"/"Haselwurm" which translates as Hazelworm resp. Armyworm. The name derives from the idea, that you could find it most often around the roots of Hazel trees and that seeing one, depending on its direction, meant that war is coming. In fact it is a conglomeration of larvae from the sciaridae mostly sciaris militaris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciaridae). These throngs can get up to 10m in length! And have been documented since 1603. In the middle of the 19th century many sightings of such throngs have been made and more recently after a long pause there have been sightings in the Harz Mountains in Germany and in Scotland. It looks like this:<br /><br />http://www.galerie-insecte.org/galerie/image/dos56/big/ma020304h.jpg<br /><br />Intriguingly enough, a certain Eckstorm takes reference in the chronicles of the monastery Walkenried of a woman gathering berries and meeting a hazelworm in 1597 which is later called the "Heidelbeerfrau" which would translate to "Blueberrywoman". Not quiet sure if this reference has something to do with the name given to the giant caterpillar in your article.<br /><br />Here is the link to an awesome source for the Hazelworm and the Tatzelwurm, but it is entirely in german:<br /><br />http://www.markuskappeler.ch/taz/frataz.html<br /><br />And the Hazel- and Tatzelwurm have been confused often enough, but you always see the mistaken identity if they refer to a Hazelwormskeleton,teeth,scales,etc.<br />Typhonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08087409371952413589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-78917434026723937442012-05-28T04:21:03.345+01:002012-05-28T04:21:03.345+01:00But, that was Alice...after taking the pill that m...But, that was Alice...after taking the pill that made her small. :)roger shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256412057049985916noreply@blogger.com