Mr. Nasty Comes to town....

[brewmaster15]

Saddleback caterpillar (Acharia stimulea)

Caution serious pain ahead,, This caterpillar is big time trouble, It feeds on a variety of plants and those spines mean business..They are poisonous and painful!!!!!! This fellow was on my string beans, we have seen them on other plants here. Family members have validated the fact that this is a painful sting!!!!!!! I strongly advise you to watch out for this critter.


Mr. Nasty Comes to town (1) by Al Sabetta, on Flickr

Mr. Nasty Comes to town (2) by Al Sabetta, on Flickr

Mr. Nasty Comes to town (3) by Al Sabetta, on Flickr

Mr. Nasty Comes to town (4) by Al Sabetta, on Flickr

If you see this caterpillar and recognize it because of my photos you can send me a nice donation to the Forum here .. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/misc.php?do=donate I guarantee that you will appreciate learning about this caterpillar.. of course the only way to know if this warrants a donation is to touch it... but I really would not recommend it, its been rated at on a pain scale of 8 out 10 and can cause mega hurt,,

Can a Saddleback Caterpillar sting be fatal?

The venom from a Saddleback Caterpillar is not fatal. In all sources I have found none mention any fatalities, nor direct evidence or case studies of potentially fatal symptoms. I’ve read numerous papers on this topic, far too many. In many of the papers the researchers themselves were stung, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not, but all described a general pain that lasted from one to three hours. This matches my own experience exactly. [1][2][3][4]
Side effects of a Saddleback Caterpillar sting

Even though it is rare, there is a possibility of some individuals being hypersensitive to the venom resulting in more severe symptoms. Some more severe symptoms that have been documented include migraine headaches, gastrointestinal discomfort/pain, asthma complications, anaphylactic shock, the rupturing

source..

[jeep]

Never seen one like that before but I'll take your word for it, lol...

[Iminit]

How’d you get it to wear that green jacket??

[brewmaster15]

How’d you get it to wear that green jacket??

coercion... Threatened it with a lighter.

[brewmaster15]

Never seen one like that before but I'll take your word for it, lol...

Wise choice Brian.. my son stepped on one barefoot and I thought we would be calling 911

[Second Hand Pat]

I have seen similar ones in Florida. Mr, Nasty is a great title for this one and others like it.
Pat

[jimmyjoe]

I got one don't know what it is but I wouldn't wanna find out. Jim in Ohio

[brewmaster15]

I got one don't know what it is but I wouldn't wanna find out. Jim in Ohio

Nice! Thats probably an American Dagger moth. Its also a poisonous one. Those black bristles are.

https://butterflyhobbyist.com/dagger-moth-caterpillar/