Hilarious Pic of Moth Having 'Identity Crisis' Delights Internet

A hilarious picture of a moth "having an identity crisis" in front of a mirror has left the internet in stitches.

Shared on Reddit on Tuesday, the picture of the insect gained attention after it was posted by Selcan, who lives in Germany.

He posted pictures of the moth that he found in his parent's bathroom staring into the mirror and wrote: "A picture of a moth having an identity crisis in my parent's bathroom at 1 am."

There are more than 160,000 species of moth worldwide, and while they're not always respected as one of Earth's most important creatures, they carry out some impressive work.

Since moths are so widespread and can be found in so many habitats, they are an indicator species, which means that their numbers tell scientists if an ecosystem is doing well or needs some help.

These little insects are used to examine and address issues that have an impact on animals in a range of ecosystems from birds to humans.

The pictures received more than 31,000 upvotes, and thousands of viewers rushed to share comments and reactions on the post.

Selcan told Newsweek: "I was getting ready for bed and wanted to brush my teeth.

"The mirror in the bathroom has three cabinets that you can open individually. I opened the one with my toothbrush inside, and once I closed it, I suddenly saw this moth sitting at the bottom of the mirror, staring at itself."

"Maybe he's trying to motivate himself," wrote one Redditor: "He's talking to himself with good words."

Meanwhile, another Reddit user wrote: "That moth has seen some s***," and one commented: "Dude, I feel that moth's pain."

"Maybe it was the sleepiness, but for some reason, I thought it looked hilarious," said Selcan.

"The way it was just staring at itself reminded me of myself in many situations. I decided to take a picture because I happened to have my phone at hand and found that situation very memorable."

Another comment on the viral image read: "We all get to this point in any given lifetime," while one Redditor wrote: "Who is that moth I see staring straight back at me? When will my reflection show who I am inside?"

"At first, I sent the picture to family members who kept saying that it looks like a meme," said Selcan: "We kept sending it back and forth to make each other laugh randomly. After a while, I thought: 'Yeah, this really does look like a meme.'

"So, I figured I'd just post it on Reddit because I thought maybe a few people would have a good laugh at it as well. The fact that it basically exploded overnight has been overwhelming."

While he did not know what happened to the moth, Selcan did share another reason that the picture was special to him: "In my culture—my parents are Kurdish—moths are seen as something that brings luck into a household, so we never kill or hurt them.

"I hope that the picture inspires people to look at even the smallest creatures in our world in a different way and not always see their presence as a threat or something bad."