Joining our friend, Mr. Strongbad the spider, we now have a stinging caterpillar camped out on our front door. Unlike our web-clinging resident, this guy IS poisonous and, in the words of a wise Will, “gives big ouchies.”
We’re not exactly sure what kind of caterpillar he is… buckmoth, perhaps?? Should you be the knowledgable one who can figure it out, please let us know!! We’d like to find photographs of him in his soon-in-coming butterfly stage and continue building on this impromtu educational experience.
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Chris S. | 16-Oct-06 at 11:30 pm | Permalink
Here’s a link from the University of Kentucky Entomology Dept. that might help.
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef003.htm
Wow, I’ve never seen that thing before. Our motherland the South never ceases to amaze me with its endless production of creatures that can either bite or sting the living hell out of you.
Holly | 17-Oct-06 at 9:42 am | Permalink
A neighbor confirmed that this is, indeed, an io moth — much like the one in the picture you referenced. She also pointed out that they have no redeeming value and recommended plucking them from whatever surface they are lurking and dropping them in a tub of water with dishsoap (quick demise). Sounds harsh… but I’ve got a preschooler and a baby that don’t need to be getting close to these guys!
Plastic Mile | 19-Oct-06 at 5:49 pm | Permalink
Funny thing is, the day after I read this, I saw a red and black striped stinging catepillar on the sidewalk in Beverly Hills. People must have thought I was a weirdo, but I bent over the sidewalk and watched the thing crawl — after poking his head up, as if to say, “You talkin’ to ME?” — for a few minutes.