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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Stinging Flannel Moth Caterpillar from Mexico

Venomous Mexican Stinging Caterpillar
Sun, Feb 15, 2009 at 9:29 AM
I am wondering if anyone knows what sort of caterpillar this might be? It was about 1″ long, a creamy light green color, and was covered with very long dark brown hairs. It was originally much fatter than shown in the photo – by the time the photo was taken, it had dehydrated a bit due to being carrying around in a plastic bag trying to get it identified. Unfortunately I just had a very nasty encounter with one of these, in in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico (Isla Mujeres – just off the coast by Cancun). It dropped out of a tree and stung me on the leg. It immediately felt like the burn of a bee sting but rapidly progressed beyond this. Caused a large welt and redness and swelling of sting area about 6″ around. But the worst part was the systemic effects of the sting which were horrible (incredible back muscle spasms, tremendous abdominal pain, and intense nausea) such that I ended up in the emergency room. Have looked on the internet to try to find out what it was, but have also been unsuccessful in determining this. Even the locals there couldn’t tell us although most knew that it was very painful and to be avoided at all costs. Any entomologists out there looking for a challenge??? Would sure love to know what this nasty little bug was…
Thanks.
Yvonne
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula)

Unknown Stinging Caterpillar

Flannel Moth Caterpillar

Hi Yvonne,
We haven’t the time to research this at the moment, but perhaps a reader can provide the answer. We don’t believe this is a Stinging Slug Caterpillar in the family Limacodidae because they don’t generally have hair. We really hope to properly identify this specimen for you and add your public service message to our archives.

Update: Eric Eaton contacted Doug Yanega who provided the following ID:
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
That’s the larva of a Megalopygid, probably a Megalopyge species near
M. lanata
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2322/2198568598_0ceb4ee7b6.jpg?v=0).
The long hairs are not the stinging hairs; the stinging hairs are
short, arranged along the side of the body not far above the prolegs.
Peace,
Doug Yanega
Dept. of Entomology
Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA

I was curious, so I asked around.
could use an identification and maybe some warnings, given that Spring Break is about to happen. The critter looks pretty tame, actually, not spiny like you tend to associate with venomous ‘pillars.
Please credit Doug with this. Thanks. Eric.

Ed. Note: Moths in the family Megalopygidae are known as Flannel Moths and the Caterpillars are sometimes called Asps because of the sting, or Puss Caterpillars.

Update:
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Hi Daniel:
This looks like the caterpillar of the Flannel Moth Megalopyge lanata (family Megalopygidae). It has appeared on WTB before (Unknown Panamanian Caterpillar on Cashew Tree – April 5th, 2008) and a lot of good information was given in response to that post. It is widespread throughout Central and South America and is definitely a creature to be wary of. Regards.
Karl
http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/resultsallphoto.lasso?photocode%20dotj=DHJ55680.j
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2008/04/05/unknown-panamanian-caterpillar-on-cashew-tree-is-megalopyge-lanata/Hi

Hi
Thanks for the info! Indeed, the photo noted below is a dead ringer for the
guy that stung me.
I have put a link to your website on an information site for the island,
just so that others can be aware and give a wide berth to this nasty little
bug!
Thanks for all your help
Sincerely,
Yvonne Hillsden

Update:
Friday, , February 20, 2009, 3:21 PM
Saw the post about the stinging caterpillar earlier in the week. the systemic symptoms sounded familiar to something I had come across recently. You may or may not want to share the attached pdf (cmaj-death-from-caterpillar ) with Ms. Hillsden.
Regards,
Jeffrey B. Tucker, B.C. E.
Entomology Associates, Inc.
Houston, Texas

Update: Sun, Feb 22, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the heads up.  I had read the CMAJ article already (just after I had been stung actually) and frankly it had scared the crap out of me!  That was one of the reasons why I was so anxious to have my particular culprit identified.  I was very relieved when the entomologist from CA identified my guy as a flannel/puss moth sp.  Would definitely not have been happy to hear that it was a type of lonomia!
Who’d ever think these cute little furry guys could pack such a nasty punch!
Yvonne

Posted 17 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Asp: Southern Flannel Moth Caterpillar

Small, pea-soup green, hairy critter
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 2:27 PM
See the photos
Curious
Gulf south (USA)

Asp

Asp

Dear Curious,
This is a Southern Flannel Moth Caterpillar, Megalopyge opercularis.  It is sometimes called an Asp and it stings.

Asp

Asp

Posted 15 January 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

newly molted Asp

Cocoon popped up found suddenly
Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 8:24 AM
I was working in my yard and clearing out my shed throwing things away mostly, in a trash can I keep in the backyard. I used the trash can about every 20 mins. One trip to the trash can, there was nothing on the lid of the trash can. On the next trip was this (presumably) cocoon. I lightly touched it and something inside moved once, from left to right. I brought the lid into my garage where I could watch cocoon and protect it from a cold front due in that night.
About 36 hrs later the cocoon (or whatever) moved from it’s original spot and left part of it’s body (?) behind which is shown in the photos.
The insect is about 2 cm long and about 1 cm wide.
Thank you for your time and your website..it’s GREAT
Terry
South Central Texas

Asp freshly molted

Asp freshly molted

Hi Terry,
This is an Asp, a stinging caterpillar of the Puss Moth.  It is freshly molted.  You are lucky you were not stung as it is reported to be quite painful.

Posted 29 October 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Asp: Stinging Caterpillar, not a Tribble!!!

3 bug pix 4 you…pictures for you
I took these pics of a small creature , approximately 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch in length, on August 22, 2004. It was residing on my front screen door about 4 feet above the porch. It was not moving at the time . I do not know what happened to it. Our house is located in Lawrenceville, in north central Georgia,USA. I have no idea what it actually is , so I decided to call it a “Tribble” after a creature in a famous “Star Trek” episode. Can you tell me what kind of creature it is ? Thanks,
Ferd R Hall

Hi Ferd,
This is actually a stinging caterpillar known in the south as an Asp. It is the caterpillar of the Southern Flannel Moth, Megalopyge opercularis, and the caterpillar is also called the Puss Caterpillar because of its resemblance to a cat. We love your comparison to the Tribbles, and that observation may help other readers with their identification. The sting of the Asp is reportedly quite painful.

Posted 18 August 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

probably Flannel Moth from French Guiana

Caterpillar from French Guiana
Good morning,
I am curious about the possible ID of this beautiful hair-piece. It was photographed in French Guiana in the 1980s. Sorry, the scan of the slide is less than perfect.
Christian Feuillet

Hi Christian,
Sadly, despite Maria Sybilla Merian’s groundbreaking work on caterpillar metamorphosis of Amazon Lepidoptera at the end of the 16th Century, much of the insect life in the rain forest remains unknown, little studied, and assuredly never seen by non-natives. We believe this is some species of Flannel Moth Caterpillar in the family Megalopygidae. Flannel Moth Caterpillars, known as Puss Moths or Asps in parts of the southern USA, have stinging hairs that discharge venom. The sting of a Puss Moth caterpillar is considered by the Ohio State University FactSheet website on Stinging Caterpillars to be: “the most severe of all the stinging caterpillars.”

Posted 08 June 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Panamanian Caterpillar on Cashew Tree is Megalopyge lanata

Panama caterpillar
This beautiful creature was photographed at Coiba National Preserve in Panama, December 11, 2007, feasting on the leaves of a cashew tree. I’ve been searching the web for two days and have had no luck identifying it, except that it’s probably of the Arctiidae family. Can you help?
Amy Lowell
White Lake, MI

Hi Amy,
We cannot currently help you with an identification, but we will post your image in the hopes that our readership can assist. Identification of many tropical species can prove very frustrating.

Update: (04/07/2008)
Thanks Dan. The caterpillar is Megalopyge lanata. The following information is courtesy of Annette Aiello: “The caterpillar is a clear case of Megalopyge lanata (Megalopygidae). Perhaps the unnatural perspective (the photo appears to have been taken in portrait view and later rotated to horizontal) made it look to you as if there were more than the usual red verrucae. As well, I suspect that the caterpillar had molted very recently and perhaps had not yet eaten very much, so still was somewhat condensed.” If you’ve posted the photo already, you can add its identification. I appreciate your help very much
Amy Lowell

Thanks for the update Amy. We found images of the adult Megalopyge lanata after you provided us with a name. We also located a caterpillar image on a Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Photo of the Week website. The caterpillar has stinging hairs.

Posted 05 April 2008 § ‡ Comments (1) °

Stinging Asp

caterpillar
My husband and I found this hairy caterpillar crawling along the handrail of the boardwalk at Grand Bay Wetland Education Center near Valdosta, Georgia. It was about 1 1⁄4 inches long with a rusty-orange “mane” on top of its wedge-shaped body, brown hairy sides with a white strip toward the back of each side. It had a narrow, flat, tail-like appendage in back. When I turned it over, it initially formed a ridge along the ventral side, too, so that it was almost diamond shaped. Then it curled into the ball you see on the leaf. I don’t know what it would eat. The trees along that part of the boardwalk are black gum and pond cypress with button bush, various sedges, rushes, and fragrant water lilies beneath.
Phyllis Hiers

Hi Phyllis,
The caterpillar of the Southern Flannel Moth, Megalopyge opercularis, is known as the Puss Caterpillar (referring to its catlike appearance) or Asp (referring to its very very painful sting). They feed on a variety of deciduous tree leaves.

Posted 21 September 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Stinging Asp Caterpillar

looks like a furry slug
Dear bugman,
I brushed against a tree and realized that there was this bug on my shirt. I flicked it off, and then discovered that it had stung my finger. It is about an inch long, brown, and has orange tufts on its back. Can you tell me what it is? I live in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Attached are 2 pictures of it. Thank You!

The caterpillar of the Southern Flannel Moth, Megalopyge opercularis, is commonly called the Asp because of its sting.

Posted 21 August 2006 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Asp

looks like a furry fish Just discovered your site! It’s very helpful, but we’re stumped on this one that looks like a furry fish. We found it happily eating a Red Bud leaf.
Dee Smith , Horticulture Manager
LaGrange , GA

Hi Dee,
The Puss Moth Caterpillar also goes by the local name Asp. This name is common especially Texas. The caterpillar has stinging hairs which can cause an uncomfortable irritation.

Posted 01 September 2005 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Asp

Dear Bugman:
This caterpillar was found in my yard in Coppell , Texas (North Texas ). It is soft and when it latches onto a twig or blade of grass it really grabs on. I’d like to know what kind of caterpillar it is and what it turns into. Thank you!
Valarie

Hi Valarie,
In some areas, the Puss Moth Caterpillar has the local common name Asp. These caterpillars have stinging hairs that cause skin irritation.

Posted 17 August 2005 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Ecuadorean Puss Moth, probably

Info request
Hi,
Saw your site and wondered if you can help. I saw this in Ecuador…Amazon Rainforest. From information on your site it looks to be a puss caterpillar. Is this correct and would it be in Ecuador? Thanks for any information.
Best Regards,
Alan

Hi Alan,
If this photo came from the U.S., we would say Puss Moth Caterpillar, or Asp, for sure. Chances are good it is a close relative.

Posted 10 May 2005 § ‡ Comments (0) °

ASPS

I live in Texas and have always live with (not very well I might add!) what I have always thought were “ASP”. That must not be the “real name” because I can’t find anything on them. They sting like the dickens! Could you please give me more info. on them. They are about an inch long and furry. They tend to hang out on Oak (I think) leaves. THEY STING SOOOO BAD!!!!
Thank you,
Julie
Houston

Hi Again Julie,
I have finally identified your Asps. It is another name for the Puss Caterpillar. The Puss Caterpillar or “Asp” is the larval form of the Flannel Moth, Megalopyge opercularis. The caterpillars grow to about 1 inch long and are furry in appearance, being completely covered by thick tan to grayish-white hairs that taper toward the back end. Among the long body hairs are shorter spines that discharge venom upon contact. The head and legs are not visible from above. The night-active adults known as flannel moths are rarely encountered. Here is a photo from a great site.

Posted 26 October 2003 § ‡ Comments (0) °

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