I learned how poisonous the puss caterpiller can be last year when I had a painful encounter with one and I vowed never to come in contact with one of them guys again, But unfortunately a couple weeks agoI accidentily ran across one and I got stung ... again!.

 It was just after dark and I was walking along a trail on the side of the house and I don't recall doing it , but I must have brushed up against the Mullberry tree and somehow transfered the Caterpiller to my arm. It felt like I had scraped the skin open on a sharp twig and It kinda stung so I rubbed across it with my hand to make sure a piece of bark or leaf wasn't still there and that's when I realized I had just brushed a puss caterpiller across my arm. I didn't see it because it was too dark , but I felt the furry-ness of it and I knew I had just spread his hollow spines (filled with toxins), across my arm.

 I knew I needed to get those spines out as soon as possible, not only to stop their toxins but to keep from spreading them to other parts of my body. And I knew from my past experience that the best way to do that was with tape, so I removed as many as I could and this wooly booger did pack a punch and it lasted for a whole week just like the last time, but I think since I got them out so soon this time the effects weren't as severe as the last time .

the picture below shows the bite after two days.

a picture of the caterpillar below

And my previous post on this is below:

Puss Caterpiller stings worse than a bee - June 16th, 2007.

 I was doing some summer pruning yesterday and managed to step on a puss caterpiller,(Flannel Moth Larvae). At first it was like a real bad bee sting, and the initial sting seemed to fade soon so I kept on trimming vines and tree branches back... but soon I began to feel a burning sensation running up my leg, the same side that the foot had gotton stung on, and by the time I could gather up the cut branches, the burning sensation had turned into PAIN - paralizing pain all the way up into my stomache.

I took 2 benadryl (allergy relief pills) and pulled out the tiny poisonous spines that were left embedded in my toe ,with a piece of clear tape. Then I put a small amount of moistened tobaco on the toe and left it there to draw out the poison. The pain finally let up about 4 hours later, but still is not completely gone. I heard that the pain can last up to 6 days but I am hoping that won't be the case for me.

If you run across one of these wooly things please be sure not to touch it, although they look cute and furry, their bite really packs a punch! The Puss Caterpiller is one of more than 50 types of caterpillars found in the U. S. that are capable of stinging. Of these, the puss caterpillar is considered to be near the top of the list in terms of the severity of its sting. The larval stage of this insect is a small, wooly, pussycat-appearing caterpillar covered with rows of long spines that look like fine, soft, cuddly hairs. Because they appear to be small, innocuous pieces of fluff, children and adults alike are led to pick them up and play with them, usually with immediate, extremely painful results.

The spines, hidden among the hairs, are hollow, and release a toxin of unknown chemical composition that produces a skin lesion. The lesion usually begins as a halo of reddened skin surrounding the sting site. This is soon followed by the appearance of a number of small cysts that gradually develop into a matrix of blood-filled lesions where the mass of spines punctured the skin. This clinical presentation is characteristic enough, generally, to permit physicians to make a diagnosis of the cause even in the absence of the caterpillar.

 See source and more pictures here .   or paste the following link into your browser:

http://www.bugsinthenews.com/puss_caterpillar_092602.htm

And while you all are out in the great outdoors this summer, be sure to keep a look out for these dangerous guys because I want you all to have safe and happy nature journeys!

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