THIS is a thorn-legged stick insect from Papua New Guinea – which somehow managed to find its way into a Tunbridge Wells street, a postman's windowsill, and now the town's museum.
Scary: Postman Richard Wooster found a thorn-legged stick insect from Papua New Guinea
The angry-looking little fellow, which measures four inches in length, was spotted by postman Richard Wooster as he did his rounds along Upper Grosvenor Road.
Before it became the latest insect to fascinate Tunbridge Wells Museum's curator Ian Beavis, the bug spent a few days in the Wooster household – after the 46-year-old had plucked up the courage to take him home and show his nine-year-old son.
Mr Wooster said: "I caught a glimpse of it poking out the side of a bush and it made me jump at first – I thought it was a scorpion.
"I wondered if it could've been a kid's toy or something.
"I took a picture of it and showed people at work and then my boy, and he asked me to bring it home."
After realising it was not a child's toy, Mr Wooster took the dead creature home.
Had it been alive, the postman might have found himself in a spot of bother, as its thorny legs are used as a defence mechanism and can pierce human skin.
"I kept it on my windowsill for a few days as I didn't have time to take it to the museum," he said.
"I've seen one or two strange things doing this job, but never anything like that – it was a bit of a shocker.
"I gave it a wide berth when I first clocked it.
"It got the better of me – I needed to find out what it was before I took it to scare everybody at work and home.
"It's just not something you'd ever expect to see around here but apparently they can be kept as pets – but with those big thorns on its legs I wouldn't fancy it.
"If it looks scary on a picture, it looks a lot worse in real life."
The insect, Latin name Epidares nolimetangere, is now in the possession of Mr Beavis, who said he had never seen anything like it before in this part of the world.
"I've not seen anything like it around here – they're often kept in captivity and bred by enthusiasts – I don't think it's come in with imported food or anything," he said.
"It's probably been kept and somebody's been breeding them but this one got loose."
Mr Beavis said it was likely to have died because of the cold weather – with it being used to far sunnier skies in its native Papua New Guinea.
He is yet to decide what the museum will do with the insect, and said it could be kept as a specimen or put on display.
He also said it could be used as part of the museum's educational service, when it takes objects to schools in the area – but it depends whether there is a niche in that market for the thorn-legged stick insect.