Huge webs appear after thousands of caterpillars infest foliage

Residents were stunned after thousands of caterpillars spun incredible webs on their street, making it "look like a scene from Stranger Things."

Remarkable pictures show blankets of silvery webs on trees and bushes on Waterloo Road in Beeston, Notts.

The tiny larvae have made large webs to protect their chosen feeding plants.

The silky blanket acts as a giant cocoon, so the creatures can munch away on their dinner, free from predators.

This safe haven means they can gorge on vegetation before they pupate into bird cherry ermine moths.

Freaked-out locals said the scene looked like the creepy ‘Upside Down’ world in hit TV series Stranger Things.

Others said they had no idea caterpillars were responsible, initially thinking a prankster had covered the vegetation in silver spray.

Charles Shellard, 24, said: “It looks as though the trees have been turned to stone or petrified.

"I think it's pretty cool and spooky to have such a strange sight around.

"I'm quite looking forward to see if they all hatch and turn into beautiful butterflies at some point; that would be a good sight.

"It's just nice to see a bit of variation in nature, you know, these things you don't see every day."

Lyn Abell, 54, said: "They're hanging down so you can't walk on the path; you've got to walk on the road. It's a nightmare.

“All of my flowers have died because of them, and I couldn’t pick up my watering can because that had also been covered in silk.”

Mum-of-two Dawn Taylor, 40, said: “My son woke me up and said ‘It’s like the Upside Down in Stranger Things out there’.

“I thought he was kidding around but when I went to the car the whole street seemed covered in this weird silky webbing. It’s amazing really.”

Tim Sexton, of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, said the silk webbing was harmless and used by the caterpillars to protect themselves.

The ermine moth eggs are laid on trees in late autumn, which hatch over winter, and that leads into an explosion of feeding in spring.

He said: "I think as soon as people start to see webs and caterpillars on trees, they always fear the worst and expect it to be one of these more toxic species.”

He added that the webbing was particularly prolific due to the hot and dry spring.