Caterpillar identification
A Mitchell
am16 at gpu.srv.ualberta.ca
Tue Sep 14 20:03:26 EDT 1999
You've got a slug caterpillar, family Limacodidae. From your detailed
description the species clearly is _Sibine stimulea_ (the saddleback
caterpillar). A recent book on caterpillars of the eastern forests
describes its sting as "intense and of considerable duration."
Andrew
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Andrew Mitchell _____ \ / _____
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On Tue, 14 Sep 1999, Smithmel wrote:
> I live in a slightly wooded suburban area outside of St. Louis,
> Missouri, and today my brother and his friend found a caterpillar that
> I have never seen before. The friend accidentally brushed up against
> the caterpillar and immediately experienced a painful tingling in his
> arm and got a red rash with several large, raised bumps that subsided
> after about 15 minutes. The caterpillar is approximately one inch long
> with no obvious segmentation (I'm not sure if it is a caterpillar or
> some kind of slug). The body is new-leaf green with an oval shape on
> its back ringed with white and grey-brown in the middle. The head,
> abdomen and tail is the same grey-brown color. On each side is six
> tufts of hair. The head has tufted antennae, and various tufts around
> the face. The tail is a mimic of the head with two bright yellow spots
> that resemble eyes. It was consuming a leaf when the boy brushed up
> against it.
>
> Can anyone tell me if this is a caterpillar and what kind it might be?
> Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am very curious.
> --
> Posted via Talkway - http://www.talkway.com
> Exchange ideas on practically anything (tm).
>
>
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