The cute and scary Venezuelan Poodle Moth

The cute and scary Venezuelan Poodle Moth

Some call it adorable. Others call it the devil. 

Brace yourself for the Venezuelan Poodle Moth, a fluffy one-inch insect that looks like a cross between a poodle and an alien. 

The tiny hard chitin scales that create the moth’s fluff help disguise it from bats while also keeping it warm.

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Zoologist Dr. Arthur Anker captured the new species in the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela’s Canaima National Park in 2009. 

Poodle moth (Artace sp, perhaps A. cribaria), Venezuela

The poodle moth bears a strong resemblance to the Muslin Moth, a neotropical moth of the family Erebidae.

However, the internet continues to debate the reality of its existence due to the creature’s scarcity — not many others have identified the bizarre critter. 

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