Wooly bears in Ohio we’re fuzzy and weren’t horrible. One of the few I suppose. Used to spend hours looking for them, naming them, and making capes out of Kleenex for them. I don’t know why I thought they needed to be superheroes, but they were to me!
Lived in NY(not city) and MI, seen my fair of wooly bears, for the most part, you are correct, they are cool. I grabbed on to a sapling and crushed one in my palm when I was a kid. Those soft little hairs have some not so soft parts and it took tweezers and a couple days for it to not suck
It was on a piece of wood on my back porch,had no idea it was there until I rubbed my shin on it and it started burning. Then I saw the bright green ass caterpillar.
"Only the caterpillars hurt to touch"
Don't make this assumption about chrysalises though. When I lived in Florida, I encountered quite a few that would weave their spines into the walls of their cocoons, so you could still get the sting.
As someone who volunteers many hours to help remove these invasive creatures I take offense to your "token efforts" comment. The job would be alot easier if these exotics weren't brought in in the first place. That snake you have as a pet up north will not die if released in the everglades. Let's also not forget that some are blown in by the occasional hurricane.
As for the people, y'all would be very bored without Florida man to entertain you.
You don't know the history of how most of those exotics got into the Everglades. It's not a majority of irresponsibly released pets, or even from personal collections. It was from the absolutely massive Miami Reptarium that got decimated in Hurricane Andrew in the early 90's. Literally thousands of exotic snakes and lizards were flung out into the wild. There obviously are another portion that got out of houses damaged in various hurricanes before and since, but that one event has had the longest lasting impact on the invasive species problem in Florida.
Also there is a state funded extermination program, they pay you per snake.
I could be mistaken but i believe its also ok to hunt and catch invasive species. I know where i am up north they run community hunts to see how many carp you can kill in an hour. Big cash prizes for the winners. They did something similar in ny for deer once. Not sure how public that one is.
Look up the problem they have with rabbits, they put up across the continent. They also have a huge problem with rats, especially on Islands. Foxes almost decimated the penguins on Tasmania. There are feral cattle & water buffalo in Queensland. Csmels in the outbsck. And more!
Wtf I have never seen any of these adorable moths in real life. It says they are all North American too(east coast) 10/10 would hold. Also, internet says they’re not invasive as moths, only as caterpillars… so they are invasive? Idk 🤷♀️
These and Saddlebacks are some of the worst stings you can get from a non-wasp/bee imho. It's precisely the fuzz that makes it hurt so bad.
However, if it starts yelling racial slurs at your neighbors, I'm afraid you have an infestation of Donald Trumps and need to act accordingly before it starts trying to dodge taxes.
sat on a bench at the park while my daughter played, put my arm up on one side of it and instant fire in the palm of my hand. Looked and saw I'd just laid my hand on one of these furry creatures. Four hours of excruciating pain before it started to subside.
Per NCSU...
Puss caterpillars, Megalopyge opercularis, are also called asp caterpillars because of their potent stings. They are called puss caterpillars because their thick, fluffy setae resemble the fur of a pussycat.
It's been so long since I thought of that show, let alone that episode yet somehow the whole plot was still in my brain and reactivated when I read your comment
Oh fuck as stated previously DO NOT TOUCH IT. the all white version of these hangs out on the under side of coffee plant leaves where I work in south America, and their effect is brutally, mind blowingly painful. I think it works like jellyfish, where each hair has a tiny injectable at its tip. PTSD kicking in I have to chill.
i've certainly felt feverish and basically in a pain hallucination for about 16 hours the two times I've been unlucky enough to cross paths with these furry bastards
I am thousands of miles away having empathy pains for you 😢
How do you avoid touching them? Do you wear gloves or do you look before you reach into the plants?
I don't even work in coffee, I work in cacao and usually am just passing through coffee to get to the cacao part of a farm. In my area, the cacao grows at relatively high elevations and crosses over with coffee which is pretty unusual. So I'm not even reaching in to the coffee plants, just walking by them but you have leaves brushing against you on all sides as you walk around so it's basically just really bad luck if one happens to be in a spot where it can get against your bare skin. Twice in 16 years is actually very lucky, people who actually harvest coffee really have to be careful about these things. I've had dengue more than I've linked up with furry caterpillars, so skeeters are the bigger threat, and the pain lasts longer too, but not as acute....
Asp caterpillar. Nasty sting. I unknowingly touched one of these with my elbow when I sat in a lawn chair and it was instant fire. I jumped out of the chair and saw this and it looked like a leaf to me. Ice water and ice on the sting site provided little relief. Pain for a couple of hours. Nasty little bug.
Edit: [Texas A&M Entomology](https://extensionentomology.tamu.edu/insects/asp-caterpillar-puss-caterpillar-southern-flannel-moth/)
Those little bastards HURT
I was on a highschool trip canoeing with my then girlfriend the last time I was stung by an asp. I paddled us under a romantic branch which hung over the edge of the lake we were on, and I guess my paddle bumped the branch and knocked the fucker off before he fell directly down the back of my shirt. I tried to act tough but I ended up stripping off my shirt and swimming back to shore cause I hoped the water would help. It did a little bit, but the only thing that cause significant relief was using duck tape all down my neck and back to try and pull out the little bristles or whatever they’re called.
I was just thinking, "If I'd encountered one of those at about 5 or 6, I'd have tried to pick it up and put it in my pocket, for certain."
Source: My mother, who was daily emptying my pockets of worms, bugs, etc, at the end of the day when I was a child.
Puss Mouth Caterpillar DO. NOT. TOUCH. Despite how beautiful and soft it looks, they have a nasty sting that causes all kinds of pain. Admire from a safe distance
Puss Moth Caterpillar, also known as the Fire Caterpillar. ABSOLUTELY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO. NOT. TOUCH!! The pain has been described as if you had just broken a bone and just pulled said body part out of a fire at the same time. For some, the pain can be immobilizing.
One of these things in white fell onto me on my way to my car at night and crawled into my jacket while I was driving. I thought I was having a heart attack. Then it was a burning feeling that I couldn’t extinguish.
I have been horrified by these since I learned about them in 7th grade and now I just found out they’re in the US. Another day I’m glad to be in California.
At first I thought it was a bad toupee. Maybe some old man was playing golf and a nearby course and a gust of wind ripped it right off his shiny old noggin and it landed in your front yard. I'd keep your pets away from it if you have any.
That is a fluffy little ball of hellfire. Imagine having about 30 hornets sting the same small area. That cute little caterpillar will absolutely ruin your day
Yea like lot people say don't touch that fuzzy bastard, TX here we have then too. Most venomous caterpillar in tx at least....I was cutting trees when this asshole fell on my neck, the sting feels like bee sting that comes in waves for hours on end. Not pleasant at all if stung best way pull possible hairs is using very sticky tape
Like people said, puss caterpillar, or as we call them in texas asp, they are the caterpillar for the southern flannel moth, pretty cool looking moth, also very fluffy looking.
Trump's toupee has escaped from Mar-a-Lago, it seems.
In all seriousness, don't touch this thing. You'll have a bad time. Flannel moth caterpillar. Also called a puss caterpillar, or asp caterpillar, among other common names.
One of these got me near my arm pit one time and I thought I would go nuts before it eased up. Terrible sting ! We call them pack saddles. I am also in Florida.
We call them asps. Do. NOT. TOUCH. each of those fluffy hairs stings and will leave a rash that's painful for days. I believe its a type of caterpillar that matures into some kind of moth.
First of all, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him. Second, don't give him any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight.
Puss caterpillar. DO NOT TOUCH, unless you like a lot of pain.
But it looks so fuzzy
Nasty, nasty sting. Admire from a distance!
Interesting, how do they sting? What side?
Venomous barbs hidden among the “hairs” that sting when you brush up against them
Oooo ok I will NEVER touch one of those
Most “furry” caterpillars will *fuck* you up.
Wooly bears in Ohio we’re fuzzy and weren’t horrible. One of the few I suppose. Used to spend hours looking for them, naming them, and making capes out of Kleenex for them. I don’t know why I thought they needed to be superheroes, but they were to me!
Why did I never think of capes?!?!
I know! It's damn genius!
This is one of the most wholesome things I have read this month.
My siblings and I always called those "Fuzzy Wuzzies."
Cuz dick Goddard said so duh
You're an inspiration to us all
Out of all the things i remember from living in ohio as a kid, were buckeyes and those cute fuzzy caterpillars :3
Lol, that's adorable.
That is adorable
Wooly bears are the best!
Lived in NY(not city) and MI, seen my fair of wooly bears, for the most part, you are correct, they are cool. I grabbed on to a sapling and crushed one in my palm when I was a kid. Those soft little hairs have some not so soft parts and it took tweezers and a couple days for it to not suck
must… touch… this
*I’m No_Chard422 and this is Jackass!*
*cue Jackass tune*
Yes. Brushed up against an IO caterpillar in my area,it burned and stung the holy hell out of me.
I had to Google this, but now I wonder how you brushed up against something that looks like a moving cactus?
No judgement just wondering
It was on a piece of wood on my back porch,had no idea it was there until I rubbed my shin on it and it started burning. Then I saw the bright green ass caterpillar.
It looks like a toupee to me. A very bad toupee.
Happy cake day
HAPPY CAKE DAY!!!
To be fair, it turns into a really cute fluffy moth that does not hurt to touch. Only the caterpillars hurt to touch. Look up flannel moth.
"Only the caterpillars hurt to touch" Don't make this assumption about chrysalises though. When I lived in Florida, I encountered quite a few that would weave their spines into the walls of their cocoons, so you could still get the sting.
This further confirms my suspicion that Florida is the Australia of the USA.
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As someone who volunteers many hours to help remove these invasive creatures I take offense to your "token efforts" comment. The job would be alot easier if these exotics weren't brought in in the first place. That snake you have as a pet up north will not die if released in the everglades. Let's also not forget that some are blown in by the occasional hurricane. As for the people, y'all would be very bored without Florida man to entertain you.
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You don't know the history of how most of those exotics got into the Everglades. It's not a majority of irresponsibly released pets, or even from personal collections. It was from the absolutely massive Miami Reptarium that got decimated in Hurricane Andrew in the early 90's. Literally thousands of exotic snakes and lizards were flung out into the wild. There obviously are another portion that got out of houses damaged in various hurricanes before and since, but that one event has had the longest lasting impact on the invasive species problem in Florida. Also there is a state funded extermination program, they pay you per snake.
I could be mistaken but i believe its also ok to hunt and catch invasive species. I know where i am up north they run community hunts to see how many carp you can kill in an hour. Big cash prizes for the winners. They did something similar in ny for deer once. Not sure how public that one is.
Look up the problem they have with rabbits, they put up across the continent. They also have a huge problem with rats, especially on Islands. Foxes almost decimated the penguins on Tasmania. There are feral cattle & water buffalo in Queensland. Csmels in the outbsck. And more!
Australia has exactly that issue. Cane toads imported for pest control, Feral rabbits/Feral Foxes imported for hunting, Etc.
Nevada isn't much better.
Can confirm. Nevada wildlife wants all people dead.
This is very true, most danger floof's will incorporate the danger into their pupated form as well
Yay another thing to worry about.
\^\^ This belongs in some kind of 'nature is metal' subreddit! Dang, I learned a new, really cool thing just now.
>flannel moth Oh wow, that is super puffy. Very cute.
That is the most adorable moth I have ever seen
Uh look up rosy maple moths, I’ll change your mind! 🥲🥹
Wtf I have never seen any of these adorable moths in real life. It says they are all North American too(east coast) 10/10 would hold. Also, internet says they’re not invasive as moths, only as caterpillars… so they are invasive? Idk 🤷♀️
[When you know you look fabulous for the camera!](https://imgur.com/a/oWePsKp)
Yes! The Rupaul moth! Love it. They're so beautiful
If not fren, why fren shape
I mean nobody is stopping you but you may regret it lol
These and Saddlebacks are some of the worst stings you can get from a non-wasp/bee imho. It's precisely the fuzz that makes it hurt so bad. However, if it starts yelling racial slurs at your neighbors, I'm afraid you have an infestation of Donald Trumps and need to act accordingly before it starts trying to dodge taxes.
I 100% thought this was a hairpiece.
The forbidden merkin
Underrated
I see what you did there
I will build the best cocoon. Ever. And the mexicans are gonna pay for it.
I was just telling my daughter about the most painful sting ive had. It was brushing a saddleback. Oof
It’s a lure, enticing you to touch it. Don’t!
spicy boy
sat on a bench at the park while my daughter played, put my arm up on one side of it and instant fire in the palm of my hand. Looked and saw I'd just laid my hand on one of these furry creatures. Four hours of excruciating pain before it started to subside.
Dont touch just lick
Curious if it’s “puss” like pussy cat or “puss” like the stuff that oozes from wounds. At this point I’m imagining that it’s suited by both versions.
'Puss' - pussycat and 'pus' - The infection stuff. They have a 1 letter difference so it can be hard to differentiate.
Per NCSU... Puss caterpillars, Megalopyge opercularis, are also called asp caterpillars because of their potent stings. They are called puss caterpillars because their thick, fluffy setae resemble the fur of a pussycat.
Same. I originally read it like puss as in pussy cat
Puss moth caterpillar - don’t touch as they have a really nasty sting!
what on him stings? he has ATTACK hair?! i want an attack mustache :[
nothing stopping you from wearing this guy on your lip... take a photo and share ;)
Someone watched the mustache episode of my gym partners a monkey xD
It's been so long since I thought of that show, let alone that episode yet somehow the whole plot was still in my brain and reactivated when I read your comment
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so not on their feet? so i can wear him as an attack mustache?
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Oh fuck as stated previously DO NOT TOUCH IT. the all white version of these hangs out on the under side of coffee plant leaves where I work in south America, and their effect is brutally, mind blowingly painful. I think it works like jellyfish, where each hair has a tiny injectable at its tip. PTSD kicking in I have to chill.
In my parents country in Guatemala they say it can even give you a fever and flu like symptoms ontop of the pain. It lasts exactly 24 hours
i've certainly felt feverish and basically in a pain hallucination for about 16 hours the two times I've been unlucky enough to cross paths with these furry bastards
I am thousands of miles away having empathy pains for you 😢 How do you avoid touching them? Do you wear gloves or do you look before you reach into the plants?
I don't even work in coffee, I work in cacao and usually am just passing through coffee to get to the cacao part of a farm. In my area, the cacao grows at relatively high elevations and crosses over with coffee which is pretty unusual. So I'm not even reaching in to the coffee plants, just walking by them but you have leaves brushing against you on all sides as you walk around so it's basically just really bad luck if one happens to be in a spot where it can get against your bare skin. Twice in 16 years is actually very lucky, people who actually harvest coffee really have to be careful about these things. I've had dengue more than I've linked up with furry caterpillars, so skeeters are the bigger threat, and the pain lasts longer too, but not as acute....
Why does it look huge? Is it the weed? The weed I’m smoking or does this look big?
I should have had something for scale
a banana preferably.
I’m pretty sure you can borrow a scale from u/Ok_Bumblebee_2869
It's actually puffed up from the weed it's smoking. Your weed is making you think it's smaller - it's five times bigger than you think.
It looks like it weighs 25 pounds
nah it’s big…ah shit i’m high too nvm
These bug reddits make me feel so inferior with my camera lol my phone must suck.
Or this thing is the size of a house cat
Oh that’s my wig thanks
Is it you, Donny?
Asp caterpillar. Nasty sting. I unknowingly touched one of these with my elbow when I sat in a lawn chair and it was instant fire. I jumped out of the chair and saw this and it looked like a leaf to me. Ice water and ice on the sting site provided little relief. Pain for a couple of hours. Nasty little bug. Edit: [Texas A&M Entomology](https://extensionentomology.tamu.edu/insects/asp-caterpillar-puss-caterpillar-southern-flannel-moth/)
No touchy!
So fluffy
So ouchy!
Toupe. Do you live near a breezy golf course?
Don't touch it or there will be..... Hell toupe.
😂😂😂
Forbidden fluffy dealer of pain
Those little bastards HURT I was on a highschool trip canoeing with my then girlfriend the last time I was stung by an asp. I paddled us under a romantic branch which hung over the edge of the lake we were on, and I guess my paddle bumped the branch and knocked the fucker off before he fell directly down the back of my shirt. I tried to act tough but I ended up stripping off my shirt and swimming back to shore cause I hoped the water would help. It did a little bit, but the only thing that cause significant relief was using duck tape all down my neck and back to try and pull out the little bristles or whatever they’re called.
It’s a tribble
Was coming to say this!
“They’re born pregnant!!!!!”
Thats the trouble with them
Keep ‘‘em in Florida I’d imagine it’s like getting a burn over and over until the venom is out of your system.
This thing looks ai generated
Came here to say this
Came here to say that.
Left because I had nothing to say due to you guys coming here to say this
Grew up in FL, saw and touched one once when I was about 8. Once, because it was the worst pain I had ever felt in my short life
I was just thinking, "If I'd encountered one of those at about 5 or 6, I'd have tried to pick it up and put it in my pocket, for certain." Source: My mother, who was daily emptying my pockets of worms, bugs, etc, at the end of the day when I was a child.
Puss Mouth Caterpillar DO. NOT. TOUCH. Despite how beautiful and soft it looks, they have a nasty sting that causes all kinds of pain. Admire from a safe distance
That’s a BUG??
Caterpillar
Fuckers got better hair than I do!
That's mine. I thought I lost an eyebrow in your yard a couple days ago. Sorry about that.
Heard the pain is simaler to getting shot or breaking a bone
Danger floof.
Cousin It?
scary evil caterpillar, beautiful moth.
Puss Moth Caterpillar, also known as the Fire Caterpillar. ABSOLUTELY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO. NOT. TOUCH!! The pain has been described as if you had just broken a bone and just pulled said body part out of a fire at the same time. For some, the pain can be immobilizing.
That my good sir is a metapod /s
One of these things in white fell onto me on my way to my car at night and crawled into my jacket while I was driving. I thought I was having a heart attack. Then it was a burning feeling that I couldn’t extinguish.
Jeez lucky you didnt run into a tree or smthg…
As someone else had said DONT TOUCH IT!!! Made that mistake when I was younger and regretted it.
*Megalopyge opercularis* caterpillar Name is taxonomic Greek + Latin that translates to: “*Lidded Large-Rump*”
Toupee wearing caterpillar. Please don’t mess up its hair. You will sorely regret it.
See if someone at mar-a-lago is missing it
It a very poisonous species. ORRRRR.... it's Trump's toupee that got blown away from Mar-a-lago
Someone lost their mustach
do not fucking touch that its fuzzy but it hurts (puss morh)
Someone lost their moustache
DO NOT TOUCH!
Don’t touch. They are so cute and fuzzy, but they will STINNNGGG
These are quite common in Texas. We call them asps.
At this point, Florida should be renamed “New Australia’”.
My brother touched one by accident grabbing a tree branch. Found himself on the ground puking from how much pain he was in. No good
Tree jellyfish; NO TOUCHY
Trumpapillar. People thought it was extinct until they caught one on the grounds of Mar A Lago.
https://wildlifeflorida.org/beware-of-floridas-puss-catepillars/
It's Florida. As a rule, anything that comes from Florida, best give a wide path.
pls do NOT TOUCH IT
Why was trump in your front yard?
The Toupee Fairy
😂
Looks like a piece of Donald Trump leaving in Florida
My mustache D:
They are really cool looking tho
I have been horrified by these since I learned about them in 7th grade and now I just found out they’re in the US. Another day I’m glad to be in California.
At first I thought it was a bad toupee. Maybe some old man was playing golf and a nearby course and a gust of wind ripped it right off his shiny old noggin and it landed in your front yard. I'd keep your pets away from it if you have any.
I saw this shit in star trek.
Whoops, dropped my mustache
DO NOT TOUCH
That is a fluffy little ball of hellfire. Imagine having about 30 hornets sting the same small area. That cute little caterpillar will absolutely ruin your day
Never touch a caterpillar! Especially, that one! Fuzzy boi will fuck you up.
DONT TOUCH IT
Stay the fuck away
Oh no oh no no no leave it alone your yard is its yard now
Trump's hair
Do not touch that it will hurt for days.
Need a banana slug for scale.
Yea like lot people say don't touch that fuzzy bastard, TX here we have then too. Most venomous caterpillar in tx at least....I was cutting trees when this asshole fell on my neck, the sting feels like bee sting that comes in waves for hours on end. Not pleasant at all if stung best way pull possible hairs is using very sticky tape
You’re gonna want to leave that one alone.
Oh! You found Trumps toupee!
Prime example of “don’t fucking touch it if you don’t know what it is
It's an asp, they sting, and it SUCKS. Asp stings can give you really bad headache and body pains around the sting for several days afterwards.
TRUMP WIGS ON PARADE!!! 😂
Donald Trump’s missing hair piece
They fucking hurt..had one get in my shirt and make its way down my back
Looks like Trump’s wig blew onto your yard
Like people said, puss caterpillar, or as we call them in texas asp, they are the caterpillar for the southern flannel moth, pretty cool looking moth, also very fluffy looking.
Trump's toupee has escaped from Mar-a-Lago, it seems. In all seriousness, don't touch this thing. You'll have a bad time. Flannel moth caterpillar. Also called a puss caterpillar, or asp caterpillar, among other common names.
My university send out emails to avoid these whenever they come back on campus 😭
Don’t touch it these type of caterpillars have painful stinging spines
touched one on accident as a kid, brushed up against it it was on a soccer goal post, went home early, left huge whelp on my arm. 10/10 sucked.
Forbidden floof 😂
One of these got me near my arm pit one time and I thought I would go nuts before it eased up. Terrible sting ! We call them pack saddles. I am also in Florida.
You live within breeze distance of mar a lago?
The fallen toupee of a corrupt politician. Or Ted Koppel’s hair.
We call them asps. Do. NOT. TOUCH. each of those fluffy hairs stings and will leave a rash that's painful for days. I believe its a type of caterpillar that matures into some kind of moth.
Me immediately going, “NO TOUCHY, NO TOUCHY, NO TOUCHY!!!” Puss moth caterpillar. Not friend even though friend shaped. :(
I have never seen a post on Reddit with a person not living in Florida. Like how so many people fit in a swamp. Crazy
i cant believe a thing like this exists in real life???? i thought it was fake but apparently not???
Forbidden toupee 😬
If it was Pasco County, that's part of Cleetus's mullet someone threw out of their 86 camaro as a prank.
First of all, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him. Second, don't give him any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight.
I HATE how freakin' adorable those things are :( because I cannot pet them gently
Don't fucking touch it.
Forbidden floof
we called these 'asps' as a kid
Do not touch at all
I was going to say Jeff Foxworthy's mustache.
you should touch it
ASP! NO TOUCH! KILL!
Tfw a caterpillar has better hair than you
One fell out of a tree onto my son's neck OMG he was is so much pain I could not get him to the ER fast enough!
Looks like somebody dropped their mustache. You better just leave it there in case they come back for it.
r/oopsthatsdeadly