Subject: Moth?
Location: Houston, Texas, suburbs
September 7, 2015 5:25 pm
Hello bugman,
This fuzzy thing was by our front door all day. We live in Houston Texas. The weather has been in the 90s with some humidity and we’ve had rain on and off. The picture I’m attaching was taken around 3pm but my husband said he saw it earlier.
We are thinking its a moth, but we are not bug enthusiasts. My dog likes to stalk house flies.
Thanks!
Signature: Dianna w
Dear Dianna,
This is a Southern Flannel Moth, also called a Puss Caterpillar Moth, Megalopyge opercularis. Many folks in the South are more familiar with the stinging caterpillar which is known as an Asp.
Thanks Daniel! I had everyone on Facebook stumped. Have a good day!
When I lived in LaJunta, Tx as a teenager, I grabbed hold of a branch of a tree in our yard when my parents were gone. Was startled by extreme pain on the inside of three of my fingers. Had chills and pain the rest of the day – and days afterwards. I had seen a little white fuzzy thing on the branch as I let go. Many decades later I still remember the overwhelming pain, and scars that were left on my fingers for years afterwards. My parents didn’t think much of it when they learned about it – just said it was an asp and told me it would eventually stop hurting. I do remember distinctly it affected my entire body, I’m learning now it must have been a southern flannel moth ‘offspring’! This was a small town in the vicinity of Fort Worth.