Residents are being alerted by wildlife officials to the presence of “alien egg pods” in murky lake waters throughout the United States.

The gooey creatures, who have the startling ability to clone themselves, are not afraid to attract attention and are proliferating.

Images of “jelly-like balls” being drawn out of water systems, such as rivers and lakes, have been circulated by people all over the world.

They are “native and are of no danger to you or wildlife.” These microbes are called bryozoans.

The tiny aquatic invertebrates, which date back up to 470 million years—older than dinosaurs—are only 4 millimeters in size as individual zooids. They “continually clone themselves until they create a large mass where they filter tiny particles out of the water for food,” as they possess both male and female reproductive organs.

According to the department, the presence of filter-feeding bryozoans in water is a sign of high water quality. “These animals are an important part of the ecosystem because they help clean the water and serve as prey for mussels, snails, and even small fish,” the department writes.

With the exception of Antarctica, where the water is too cold, bryozoans are found on every continent. They “often spread through water connectivity or even by passing through the intestinal tract of fish or birds!”

The strange, sticky-looking sacs, which seem to contain thousands of eggs, are found underwater and are usually affixed to a rock, branch, or dock.