A MECHANIC working on a customer’s Volvo was left stumped after spotting something strange poking out of the car’s rim – and quickly turned to social media for answers.
The unusual find took place in the US, where TikTok user @wrenchwithang posted a video showing the bizarre scene as she carried out a routine inspection.
Panning the camera towards the wheel, she asked: “Can anybody tell me what the heck that is?” adding in her caption, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The unusual growths sparked a mix of confusion and comedy in the comments.
Some joked that the car was “going through puberty”, while another viewer called them a “curb counter” – suggesting each stalk represented a run-in with a pavement.
The stalks, which looked like tiny antennae growing straight out of the rim, turned out to be something far less sinister but no less strange: insect eggs.
Viewers eventually identified them as green lacewing eggs – a natural phenomenon not commonly seen on cars.
Green lacewings are delicate insects, typically about three-quarters of an inch long, known for laying their eggs on hair-like stalks.
These stalks act as safety posts, keeping the eggs spaced apart to stop the hatchlings from eating each other once they emerge.
Other social media users have reported similar sightings, including a man who found the same mysterious stalks growing from a bunch of grapes.
The eggs are usually laid overnight, often on plants or surfaces near grassy or wooded areas.
Lacewings are beneficial insects that play a vital role in pest control.
Their larvae are voracious predators that feed on aphids, mites and other garden pests.
It’s not uncommon for them to lay eggs on cars left parked outdoors, especially near vegetation.
In a Reddit post shared in the biology community, one user reported finding a similar cluster of eggs on a car door parked in an office lot.
There were no trees or flowers nearby, suggesting these insects don’t need much to settle in – just a quiet, undisturbed surface.
As for the mechanic, she seemed more curious than alarmed – but understandably taken aback.
“Let me know if you’ve ever seen this before,” she said to her viewers.
