Caterpillar Identification

[Kathleen Moon]

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. 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 are the same grey-brown color.  On each side are 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 what kind of caterpillar it might be?
> Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am very curious.

Probably a saddleback.  The Limacodidae (the saddleback is one of them)
include a number of wierd-looking beasties, all wierder one than the
next.

Pierre A Plauzoles

[relayed by Kathleen Moon]