Woman Shocked by “Two-Headed Snake” in Garden—The Truth Leaves Everyone Speechless
What began as a terrifying backyard discovery in Argentina quickly turned into one of the internet’s most fascinating viral mysteries.
A woman named Lujan Eroles stumbled upon a strange, snake-like creature slithering through her garden in Santa Fe. With dark brown and white stripes, an odd “eye” that seemed to blink, and what looked like a head at each end of its body, the bizarre animal sent shivers down her spine. Convinced she had found a “two-headed snake,” she recorded a video and uploaded it to Facebook.
Within days, the clip exploded online—garnering over 19 million views and more than 180,000 shares. Commenters flooded her page with wild guesses. Some joked it must be a Pokémon, while others thought it was some sort of mutant worm.
But the real answer took weeks to arrive.
The mysterious “two-headed snake” was finally identified as a hawk moth caterpillar—a harmless insect that has mastered the art of deception.
The Caterpillar That Pretends to Be a Snake
According to National Geographic, hawk moth caterpillars use an extraordinary survival trick. When threatened, they puff up their tails, which makes them look like a snake’s head. The strange “blinking eye” that startled Eroles is actually part of this disguise—an optical illusion designed to scare off predators.
“This caterpillar is like a hot dog that suddenly transforms into a snake,” explained Katy Prudic, an entomologist at the University of Arizona. “The predator expects an easy snack, then panics and drops it.”
Researchers have documented this behavior in the Journal of Natural History, describing the “blinking” as an advanced form of eye mimicry that keeps birds and other hunters at bay.
A Scary Illusion—But Completely Harmless
While Eroles admitted she was terrified at first, the truth is far less sinister. The hawk moth caterpillar poses no danger to humans. Its snake-like transformation is nothing more than a clever evolutionary strategy that allows it to survive long enough to become a moth.
What seemed like a backyard horror story turned out to be a breathtaking reminder of how strange—and brilliant—nature can be.
Millions who watched the video may have gasped in fear, but in the end, the creature was not a monster at all—just a tiny caterpillar playing one of nature’s oldest tricks.