A Palmerston North woman claims to have found an unexpected visitor in the pocket of her new pants during a shopping trip on Saturday.
The woman, who wishes to be unnamed, posted on Facebook page 'Vic Deals' that she discovered the mystery, shrivelled insect in the pocket of her new Anko-branded pants from Kmart upon arriving home.
"What the hell is this?" she captioned the post with accompanying photos of the creature.
She told Newshub the insect was "dead already", but she still "freaked out a little" upon discovering it.
Her post racked up over 300 comments from Facebook group members, most recommending the woman report the discovery to MPI, as it was difficult to ascertain exactly what the insect was.
An MPI spokesperson told Newshub their surveillance and investigation team contacted the woman and are "currently waiting to receive further information".
"We have identified the insect as a mole cricket, but will need to examine the specimen to confirm whether it is a native or exotic species," he said, adding they've asked the woman to send it to the lab in Christchurch for identification.
"The insect appears to be long dead from the photos. If this is the case, it would not pose any biosecurity risk."
The woman said Kmart apologised after she contacted them directly, but hadn't followed up with her.
"It was a pretty gross experience," she added.
