Subject: Bug
Location: West Viriginia
September 20, 2014 11:42 am
I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of bug this is. Found it crawling out of the ground. Can you help me. Please and thank you.
Signature: Bobbi
Hi Bobbi,
This is a Hickory Horned Devil, the largest North American Caterpillar, and despite its fearsome appearance, it is perfectly harmless as it neither stings nor bites, and it is not venomous or poisonous. We typically receive numerous reports of sightings in the late summer and early fall, but this year we have received very few reports. Since this individual was on the ground, we assume it was searching for a likely spot to dig beneath the surface to begin pupation. The adult Hickory Horned Devil is the spectacular Royal Walnut Moth.
Thank you for the information. I was wondering because my husband and a couple of his friends found it. And they touched it so we was hoping it wasn’t poisonous. Will they live if it had been moved. They didn’t want to kill it and it was near a dead tree they was cutting on.
Your husband and his friends will live. Relocating the Hickory Horned Devil should not have a negative impact on its survival.