People Warned To Look Out For Walnut Sized Lumps On Christmas Trees

Getting a real Christmas tree really adds to the magic of the holidays, but if you go down that route, experts have warned to make sure there aren't any creepy crawleys lurking inside the trunk.

Yep, it turns out there could be uninvited guests in your tree - and hundreds of them, at that.

The thing to look out for is a "walnut-sized" brown lump on your tree, which looks something like a pine cone.

It might look pretty harmless, but inside this bark-coloured mass could well be a whole bunch of praying mantis eggs.

While various species of praying mantis can typically be found in North America and some parts of China, the mantis religiosa is a species of praying mantis which is more commonly found in Europe - and likely the one inside your tree's egg sack.

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One of these walnut sized lumps could fit around 200 of the insects, and if unattended they could then be left to hatch in your home and roam free.

In a post on social media, which has recently resurfaced, expert Daniel Reed wrote: "If you happen to see a walnut sized/shaped egg mass, on your Christmas tree, don't fret, clip the branch and put it in your garden.

"These are 100-200 preying mantis eggs! [sic] We had two egg masses on our tree this year.

"Don't bring them inside they will hatch and starve!"

Responding to the Facebook post, one person wrote: "If I start seeing things crawling across the floor I will be gone until after Christmas."

While another penned: "Haha that's me never getting a real tree".

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A third chipped in: "If I see this the whole tree is going in the garden! Taking no chances w/ bugs".

While a fourth, rather plainly wrote: "NOPE".

It turns out the egg sacks have been catching people out for years.

"Been there done that! 1996 - my 9ft tree hatched," another wrote on Facebook.

"I had just filled the water trough when I realised. Had to drag that thing out to the deck and throw it off myself. I've never had a live tree since."

A mum wrote: "My son had a spider nest in his. Christmas morning there were millions of tiny spiders all over the tree and house."

Brb, we're off to check the Christmas tree for lumps *immediately*.

Topics: Christmas Tree, Christmas, Life News, Life, Animals

Joanna Freedman

Joanna is a journalist at Tyla with a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches, too. Contact her at [email protected].

@joannafreedman