The Giant Caterpillar Caper
Posted by: Nick Redfern on June 2nd, 2012
In his latest post at his Shuker Nature blog, Dr. Karl Shuker begins:
“The quaintly-named gooseberry wife is a giant hairy caterpillar said to lurk amid gooseberry bushes on the Isle of Wight (situated off Hampshire, southern England), lying in wait to devour unruly children hoping to steal the berries. Having said that, you will no doubt be relieved to learn that this daunting creature is no more real than any other imaginary bugbear invented by exasperated parents to deter their errant offspring from doing what they shouldn’t.”
But, as Karl also notes, there is a fascinating story behind this unlikely beast…
About Nick Redfern
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.
i love gooseberries!
We had a problem with one of those years back. On a Monday it ate through one apple, but it was still hungry. On Tuesday it ate through two pears, but it was still hungry. On Wednesday…