Ten-year-old Moriah Carpenter was outside playing with Mikaela, Gabriel and Nate, three of her six siblings, when her hand brushed a tree. Instantly she felt an intense, stinging pain. Her mother, Dawn, soothed the child and doctored the sting as any mother would do. All children get stings and scrapes, only Moriah’s wound wasn’t soothed; in minutes her hand swelled and grew hot. Redness crept up her arm; her underarm lymph nodes were swelling.
During the ordeal the other children described a caterpillar they had seen on the tree. It was brown and furry. Gabriel, Moriah’s brother, captured the caterpillar in a jar while the family consulted their book on poisonous plants and insects. Between the book and the Internet, the caterpillar was identified as the puss caterpillar, a most venomous insect. Moriah was taken to the doctor.
The puss caterpillar thrives in trees, elm, sycamore and oak. They often wander down or fall from the tree. The sting is described as intense as a scorpion’s sting or a stingray’s. The fur of the caterpillar hides poisonous spines that break off into the skin and have been known to cause vomiting, fever and a drop in blood pressure. The caterpillars are most prevalent in the fall and spring. If allowed, the stinging puss caterpillar will morph into the feathered southern flannel moth.
Here in the Prairie we have stinging caterpillars. They are most often attractive, especially to children. When Dawn was asked what became of their caterpillar, she explained the children brought it home from the doctor’s office, watched it for a while, and then “disposed of it properly.”
Home remedies for stings include using Scotch tape to remove the spines, ice packs to reduce swelling, or applying a paste made with baking soda and water. Many times professional medical attention is required, as in Moriah’s case. Moriah’s hand continues to heal.
Another stinging caterpillar, the saddleback caterpillar, found its way to the Prairie house. The little fellow tucked himself in the interior of an outdoor potted plant. Like Moriah’s, my hand wandered too near the horns of the saddleback. A stinging sensation ran through my body like an electric current, but that was all. Children are far more susceptible to severe symptoms of a caterpillar’s sting. The saddleback caterpillar is brown and lime green with a multitude of horn-like structures. The back of the caterpillar looks like a saddle. It’s a pretty creature but one best not to touch.
Knowing my fascination for caterpillars, moths and butterflies, Nate Pack called to offer a caterpillar that he had found. Nate’s caterpillar was a hickory horned devil, the largest caterpillar found in the United States. It is green in color and has horns all over its body. The caterpillar can reach six inches in length and three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Though scary looking, the hickory horned devil is harmless.
Unfortunately, Sam took Nate’s call and told him we didn’t need any more caterpillars.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
