Posted on 10/17/2020 12:43:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A bizarre little insect that looks like a walking toupée and squirts venomous pus from knifelike spines is terrorizing Virginia this year, according to the state's Department of Forestry (VDoF).
The venomous pus caterpillar is the larval form of the southern flannel moth (Megalopyge opercularis), and if you see one you should stay away from it. Its "hairs" are actually spines that make it among the most venomous caterpillars in the United States. A woman in New Kent County described the sensation of a "scorching hot knife passing through the outside of my calf" when she brushed against one on the door of her car, according to The Daily Progress.
Pus caterpillars have appeared in Virginia before, according to the VDoF. And they've been found as far north as New Jersey. But they're much more common in Florida and at greatest abundance in west-central Texas, according to the University of Florida. Eric Day, manager of Virginia Tech's Insect Identification Lab, told The Daily Progress that this appears to be "an outbreak year."
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
“Its not completely hopeless. There are places in Colorado where rattlesnakes live . . . :-))”
I’ve never seen one. I have to get out more.
Dare I say it?
Hell toupées.
We had them when I was in Florida. They lived in oak trees and orange trees. You didn’t want get one inside your shirt down your back. It would make you sick.
They are definitely “not bros”.
I got hit twice as a young child. Once out of curiosity, a second time (stepped right on it) cause I didnt see it. Let me assure you, that, OUCH.
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