Awe.....
Isn't it a cute little fuzzy caterpillar?????
Looks like a little kitten....all fuzzy and ...
.
Awe....
And it turns into such a pretty colored, little, soft, furry moth
Well..... Yep....This cute little caterpillar that grows into this furry looking moth is highly poisonous to us humans.
This is the PUSS MOTH CATERPILLAR and because it looks like a cute little pussy cat I'm sure you can figure out how it got it's name.
Also known as a Southern Flannel Moth, the caterpillar stage as shown above is very toxic due to what it has hiding. Beneath that soft wooly coat of whitish to brownish hair that flows into a tail-like appendage and sometimes even displays a long orange streak running down the length lie numerous short poisonous spines that can have a most undesirable effect upon you if you come in contact with it.
The sting from these spines can cause quite a bit of pain and even radiate up causing swelling and burning. In more severe cases especially with the larger caterpillars it can cause headaches, nausea, rashes, numbness, chest pain and even difficulty breathing.
The Puss caterpillar can be found found feeding on various shrubs and trees including roses, ivy, maple, elm, oak and sycamores among others.
So, next time you see a cute little fuzzy caterpillar and you want to pick it up because "it's just so-o-o-o cute"..... DON'T!!!
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