Caterpillar identification

[Joe Kunkel]

Very Curious,

You have probably stumbled on a Saddleback Caterpillar, _Sibine
stimulea_.  It is known for its painful stinging bristles.  It develops
into a moth of not great distinction.  The caterpillar is the thing that
inspires the name here.

Here are some URLs:

http://personal.bhm.bellsouth.net/bhm/w/j/wjpt/spine.JPG

http://entmuseum9.ucr.edu/ent133/ebeling/ebel9-4.html#sibine stimulea

http://ctr.uvm.edu/ctr/el/el229.htm

Enjoy and beware!

Joe

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).

-- 
--------------------
Joseph G. Kunkel, Professor
Biology Department             joe at bio.umass.edu
University of Massachusetts    http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel
Amherst MA 01003