Mom notices her children with a small fuzzy animal in a park and becomes alarmed.
For generations, humans have evolved instincts and, more importantly, information about which animals and other things to avoid. Although the majority of animals is absolutely harmless to people, it is necessary to be cautious when out in nature.
That’s what mother Leslie Howe did when out with her family at a tiny park.
It had been a typical day out with the kids until she noticed a peculiar fuzzy creature shaped like a ball, according to USA Today.
For generations, humans have evolved instincts and, more importantly, information about which animals and other things to avoid. Although the majority of animals is absolutely harmless to people, it is necessary to be cautious when out in nature.
That’s what mother Leslie Howe did when out with her family at a tiny park.
Leslie, a mother from Georgia, spotted something weird near her children at their neighborhood playground in 2014.
It had been a typical day out with the kids until Leslie noticed a peculiar hairy creature shaped like a ball, according to USA Today. The mother went with her instincts. And it would turn out to be a wise choice.
Leslie was in a park in Gwinnett County, Georgia, with her infant and two other little children when the “fur ball” piqued her interest. It was small and appeared modest and harmless at first glance, but she intuitively felt the need to avoid it. While this tale was previously reported a few years back, it is again circulating online to alert all American parents to the danger.
What lay behind the fur was definitely deadly, and Leslie hopes that her story might help warn others to avoid the suspect fur ball: a Megalopyge Opercularis larva, sometimes known as the puss caterpillar.
The name is most likely a reference to the caterpillar’s likeness to velvety cat fur. Despite its seemingly innocent appearance, the bug has poison that it may inject. It’s coated in hair, which hides deadly bristles.
These larvae, which can grow to be a little more than an inch long, can be found throughout much of the United States. They might be discovered “feasting on foliage in states ranging from New Jersey to Florida and as far west as Texas,” according to NPR.
The sting of the puss caterpillar is extremely painful, and it should never be touched. This may cause them to cling to you and inject you with their poison.
“It’s like a wasp sting, only worse.” The agony is instantaneous and intensifies once the thing adheres, and it can even cause bone damage. It depends on where it gets trapped and how many tags have dug into your skin to determine how badly it gets stuck. People who have had it trapped on their hands have reported feeling discomfort up to their shoulders for up to twelve hours, according to ethnologist Don Hall, according to Expressen.
Eric Day, manager of Virginia Tech’s Insect ID Lab, has surely felt the agony of a puss caterpillar sting. He was stung by an odd-locking caterpillar while mowing the lawn at his home in rural Virginia.
“The burning sensation went away in a day or so, but that blister and then subsequent kind of irritated area was visible for several weeks,” he recalled.
If you are stung by this caterpillar, use tape to remove the deadly hairs before carefully washing the affected area with soap and water. If the sting location begins to itch, the National Capital Poison Center recommends applying hydrocortisone lotion or baking powder to the affected region. Seek medical attention if the situation worsens.
Puss caterpillars are rarely lethal, but their sting can provoke anaphylaxis, which can be fatal.
Take a peek at this strange and fascinating caterpillar:
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