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

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa

Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett pointed out President Donald Trump's hypocrisy on immigration considering how First Lady Melania Trump's pathway to citizenship was possible because she received an "Einstein visa," which is usually reserved for an individual with "some sort of significant achievement."

Speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process,” Crockett noted that “the idea that Trump and my Republican colleagues want to restore integrity and security in the visa process is actually a joke," and harshly criticized the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and visa restrictions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Jennifer Griffin and Pete Hegseth
The Hill

Fox Host Comes To Reporter's Defense After Pete Hegseth Berates Her At Pentagon Briefing

Fox News' chief political analyst Brit Hume came to the defense of Fox national security reporter Jennifer Griffin after their former colleague, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, criticized Griffin as the reporter "who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says” in a Pentagon news conference.

Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, had criticized media outlets—including his former network—for what he described as unpatriotic reporting. Hegseth took particular aim at early intelligence assessments suggesting that President Donald Trump's bombing of Iran may not have significantly crippled Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Keep ReadingShow less

Teachers Share The Questions Students Asked In Class That Broke Their Hearts

Being a teacher is a calling.

It is not for the meek or weak of heart.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Emily Compagno
Fox News

Fox Host Slams Dem For Dropping An F-Bomb After Praising Trump For The Same Thing Just Minutes Earlier

Fox News host Emily Compagno was criticized after she praised Donald Trump's use of the "f-bomb" earlier this week before condemning Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett's use of the same word—on the same episode of her show, no less.

Trump made headlines this week after admonishing Israel and Iran for violating a ceasefire agreement he'd announced on Truth Social. Although he claimed the ceasefire had been "agreed upon," Iran fired at least six missile barrages at Israel after it was supposed to take effect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ken Jennings; Emily Croke
@Jeopardy/Instagram

Champ's Wild Final Jeopardy Connection

In a dramatic conclusion on last Monday’s Jeopardy!, a contestant revealed a surprising relationship to the final clue's answer. Hailing from Denver, Emily Croke made it to the final write-in portion of the game show with $12,200 in earnings.

In the category of “Collections,” host Ken Jennings read the clue:

Keep ReadingShow less