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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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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