Rice University evolutionary ecologists have discovered huge quantities of one of North America's most venomous caterpillars. Texas Medical Center (TMC)—which is visited by 10 million people seeking health care each year—are routinely netted to discourage pesky birds such as grackles and pigeons. Now Rice researchers have learned the netting has an unintended consequence: Chasing away birds that eat insects has created a haven for a flourishing population of Megalopyge opercularis, commonly referred to as asps. When a human is stung by an asp, it can cause localized pain that is compared to blunt-force trauma or a bone break. Egan's team...