I found my first IO moth caterpillars a little while ago. By accident! I was out trimming a hibiscus bush in front of my house. All of a sudden I felt a sting on my thumb-- then one of the worst pains I've ever felt all the way up my arm. I immediately threw down the branch I was holding, and lo and behold, there were two green spiny/hairy caterpillars on there. I wasn't sure what they were until I did a quick online search. My neighbor is a Nurse Practitioner, and since he was outside trimming trees I went over and got some "professional instructions" on what to do. Soap and water, then ice on the thumb and a benedryl. Thank goodness I've never had a major reaction to insect stings. My thumb is still all swollen and my arm still hurts, but I'm breathin'.
I never want to encounter any of those again!! And I decided I did not want to put them in a cage. Sorry, but they made me a little mad. ;+}
Terrie
IO Moth Caterpillars
Ouch! I saw one in my bromeliad bed yesterday and decided it could just fend for itself too, I'll stick to the "friendly" cats!
Hope your thumb and arm feel better soon.
Cathy
Yep...they can camouflage themselves so well when they are on greenery.
Do hope you are feeling better.
I get Io caterpillars on my wisteria a couple of times a year. Every now and then I'll bring a few in to raise but am very careful when cleaning out the cage :o)
I once had a terrible encounter with an asp caterpillar. Now that one knocked me out for about 20 hours. It was on a branch I was moving to the dump pile. I dropped everything but made the mistake of rubbing my arm against the side of my stomach - the stinging hairs went through my t-shirt and zapped my abdomen as well. OUCH!!!
On some caterpillars, like the asp, you place duct tape or postal tape on the area that has the stinging hairs and peel it off - the tape does a good job at picking up any little pieces as well as pulling out anything that is embedded into your skin. Haven't been zapped by an Io caterpillar though...so don't know if that will work on those kind of stings.
Here's an Io cat I raised last year measured in centimeters :o)
~ Cat
IO? That's a new one on me--what does IO stand for? I've never seen one and hope I don't! I like the "friendly" cats.
Io is the common name of the moth. Automeris io is the scientific name. The caterpillars have urticating hairs/spines that can really put a hurt on you.
This is a photo of a male moth. The female of this species is more brown. As a moth they are harmless :o)
~ Cat
I've actually taken pictures of that moth. I'm just getting into the cats and didn't know anything about what it looked like. Such a pretty moth too. I'd have never guessed the moth came from such a mean, nasty little cat! Thanks for the info Texas.
Cat,
That asp caterpillar sounds awful. I'm going to have to brush up on my "nasty caterpillars". I never think about it since I'd never seen any here before. I guess I had to learn the hard way. I'd better go buy a pair of gardening gloves. lol
Terrie