Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Man Decides To Raise Seven 'Caterpillar Children' He Found In His Grocery Store Broccoli

Man Decides To Raise Seven 'Caterpillar Children' He Found In His Grocery Store Broccoli
Sam Darlaston has had cocoons dotted around his living room (Sam Darlaston)

Sam Darlaston found himself raising seven “caterpillar children" after discovering the tiny stowaways in several heads of broccoli.

Darlaston went to cook his “favorite vegetable" for dinner one evening when he discovered a small caterpillar hidden inside.


The Kiss FM presenter decided to keep it as a pet before asking his friend to buy him some fresh broccoli.

However, when his friend returned, they discovered five more insects hidden in the latest vegetable.

A third attempt at buying broccoli revealed a seventh bug, which was transferred into a box in the living room, alongside the others.


The caterpillars are named Broc, Ollie, Cedric, Carlos, Croc, Janine, and Slim Eric. And, some have now evolved into butterflies, with four still cocooned.

“I didn't think they would survive if I put them outside straight away," Darlaston said.

“I read that caterpillars only eat their host plant and I didn't have any broccoli in the garden. So I thought, the best bet is to keep them with some broccoli and they can leave when they're older," he continued.

After researching that it would be safe to release the Spanish white cabbage butterflies in the UK, Darlaston created a small ecosystem in his living room.

However, several of the bugs escaped into the house, with one cocooning around a scented vanilla stick and another underneath a candle holder.


“The first one, within three days he was a cocoon, but the last one took around eight days. But I almost fast-tracked them because I gave them unlimited food," Darlaston said.

“Three of them got out and were in the lounge. You're not meant to move them once they're cocooned, so one is just in the lounge."

“My housemates have just embraced it and now come and check how they are."

“They were alright with it, they were just like, 'that's how lockdown is going then, we now keep caterpillars'."

After tagging Tesco in the thread, they refunded him $1 for two of the heads of broccoli and said they would log the incident.

“It's natural, isn't it? It means they're not using too many pesticides which is a good thing," Darlaston said.

“It seems like a hungry caterpillar made its way into Sam's broccoli. We're really sorry about this and apologize to Sam for providing an accidental pet with his greens," Tesco wrote.

“We regularly test our fresh produce for quality but as we encourage our growers to move to more natural production methods and greatly reduce the application of pesticides, this can occasionally lead to the very odd insect being found."

More from Trending

Ted Cruz; Kelvin Sampson
Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images; Alex Slitz/Getty Images

Houston Fans Livid After Ted Cruz 'Curse' Strikes Again At NCAA Basketball Championship

In 2013, 2016 and 2021, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was labeled the most hated man in Congress—by members of his own party. In 2023, Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz replaced him as the "most hated."

In a 2016 CNN interview, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said:

Keep ReadingShow less
Harriet Tubman
Library of Congress/Getty Images

National Parks Website Restores Harriet Tubman Photo To 'Underground Railroad' Page After Backlash

Following significant backlash, the National Park Service restored a previously-erased photo of Harriet Tubman from a webpage dedicated to the history of the Underground Railroad, in which she led 13 missions to rescue enslaved people.

A spokesperson said the changes were not authorized by the agency's leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot from Fox News of Jackie DeAngelis and Tommy Tuberville
Fox News

Tuberville Now Claims 'Entire Men's Teams' Are 'Turning Trans' To Play Against Women

Alabama Republican Senator Tommy "Coach" Tuberville appeared on Fox News Sunday to again spread unhinged misinformation about transgender athletes.

Speaking with guest host Jackie DeAngelis, Tuberville stated:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver/YouTube

John Oliver Epically Calls Out Awkward Truth Behind Former NCAA Swimmer's Anti-Trans Tirades

On Sunday's episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the outspoken host devoted the entire program to the attack on trans girls and women who play sports by the GOP.

Oliver began the program saying:

Keep ReadingShow less
man in front of computer code
Chris Yang on Unsplash

Conspiracy Theories That Seem Believable The More You Look Into Them

We tend to think of conspiracy theories as a phenomenon of the digital age. But the internet and mobile devices only allow them to be created and spread faster.

Conspiracy theories have likely been around as long as human civilization has. They are, at their root, just another form of rumors and gossip.

Keep ReadingShow less