Subject: Green caterpillar
Geographic location of the bug: South Africa, highveld
Date: 02/19/2019
Time: 09:42 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: These are about an inch long, and are aggressively moving through my garden. May be responsible for some painful skin reactions, but unconfirmed. Any idea what they are, and what they’ll turn into?
How you want your letter signed: Jon
Dear Jon,
These are Stinging Slug Caterpillars in the family Limocodidae and we have previously identified them as Latoia vivida. Stinging Slug Caterpillars should be handled with extreme caution as they are capable of delivering a painful sting.
Wow, that was fast. Thank you so much!
I have also encountered these little terrorists in my garden, and received a nasty sting.. You don’t say if they are poisonous, although this happened to me yesterday, and I am still alive..
Got nipped by one on my tender underarm here in Chiang Mai Thailand. Identical to those pictured, except less than half an inch. It was an obvious neurotoxin as my arm soon began to tingle, but it wore off in a half hour or so.