This is the moment a prankster taunted her friend by chasing her with a giant moth the size of her hand.
Hilarious footage shows Melanie Ottaway, 30, pursuing insect-phobic pal Sian Cassidy, 35, with what she dubbed a ‘killer moth’ after discovering it on a walk in Queensland, Australia, last week.
Bizarrely, the meeting took place a year to the day that Melanie filmed another viral insect encounter – this time of a huge huntsman spider eating a gecko lizard.
But the property and marketing manager insisted she isn’t at all afraid of Australia’s bizarre and sometimes terrifyingly huge wildlife, and instead wants to make friends with it.
Melanie, from Noosa Heads, Queensland, said: ‘As we were walking Sian’s two Chihuahuas, I noticed this huge killer moth, and not being afraid of insects I picked it up straight away.
A prankster taunted her friend by chasing her with a freaky giant moth the size of her hand
‘It was just on the ground. It was beautiful, with its big body and huge wings.
‘I love insects and weird things, I’m never scared of stuff like that.
Melanie Ottaway, right, chased her friend Sian Cassidy, left, with the giant moth after ‘making friends’ with it
‘When I saw it I got excited and thought “look at this big fella” – as soon as I picked him up he was my best friend.
‘Sian however was just terrified, so I filmed the video to scare her.
‘She is scared of any insects and didn’t like me coming towards her with it.
Look at this big fella: The jokey chased her friend in Queensland while brandishing the winged creature
‘When I confronted her with the moth, she was like “get away from me”. She told me to never do that to her again with any bugs or insects. I was like “don’t be mean, it’s gorgeous”.’
Melanie believes she has a strange connection with animals and insects after last year filming a huge huntsman spider devouring a large gecko.
Melanie Ottoway tormented her friend Sian Cassidy by running after her with a massive moth
And she believes she could have discovered a new species in the massive moth, with experts and the internet unable to tell her what it could be.
The 30-year-old added: ‘I have a strange bond with animals, they just seem to pop up in my life.
‘Weirdly enough, it was a year to the day that I filmed a huntsman spider eating a gecko.
the meeting took place a year to the day that Melanie filmed another viral insect encounter – this time of a huge huntsman spider eating a gecko lizard
‘I had never come across anything like that moth before though.
‘I did have a Google and sent a picture to a friend who is a scientist and I couldn’t find anything that looked like it.
‘It is definitely something quite unusual, maybe I have discovered a new species.’