WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS FOOTAGE SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING
In what can only be described as pure nightmare fuel, a video has emerged showing the moment an alien-like creature erupts from the corpse of a praying mantis.
Before we get into this, we've got to double up on the warnings. As well as featuring some pretty disturbing footage, the creature in this video was dead before it was tampered with.
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In other words, no bugs were harmed in the making of this video (although our souls will be broken forever).
It's no surprise the internet is absolutely horrified by the clip, looking like something straight out of a creepy sci-fi movie.
The footage - which was shared by Reddit user @jediwithanm4 under the apt caption 'Better call the Men in Black' - starts with a man cutting the backend of the deceased insect.
As he pulls back, several long black tentacles start slithering their way out of the bug, much to the amazement of the viewer.
The seemingly endless worms continue to make their way out of the insect and by the end they're almost twice as long as their host.
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Unsurprisingly, the Reddit community was grossed out by the clip, which has amassed nearly 2,000 comments at the time of writing.
"I hated every single second of that," wrote one user, while another joked: "Alright, who went to Antarctica and brought back The Thing? Be honest."
A third revealed: "This was uncomfortable to watch while pooping." Way too much information.
Some people chimed in to offer an explanation to this whole incident, with one person stating that those alien-like things are actually 'horsehair worms'. And they're just as gross as they sound.
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"They're pretty common parasites in insects," they wrote. "But now that their host was apparently murdered, they're trying to escape to more verdant spineless pastures."
This person is absolutely correct - horsehair worms are obligate parasites that can grow up to 90cm long and can be extremely dangerous for their hosts, particularly praying mantises.
And if that weren't bad enough, these parasites start out as larvae in the gut of the small insects that the mantis eats. Once they are ingested, they start to grow.
When they are fully matured, the worms emit proteins that take over the host's nervous system and force the mantis to jump into water. The worms then break free to reproduce - leaving the poor green insect as an empty husk.
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Told you it was pure nightmare fuel.
Featured Image Credit: The Jedi Guy/Reddit