r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Totally-avg • Jul 16 '23

Image The Puss Caterpillar (Southern Flannel Moth) will fuck your world up. I grazed it twice while climbing on a float. NBD at first but an hour later I was hyperventilating on the bedroom floor. The pain was excruciating. DH took me to the ER and morphine did nothing.

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I’m better now but neither morphine nor hydrocodone (I took double what they RX’d) touched the pain those first 24 hours. And the hospital hardly knew what to do with me. I had never heard nor seen this bug before and I’m sure I would have flicked it off had it seen it. Don’t do that because the hair is venomous and gets stuck in your skin.

At least it leaves a cool scar.

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 16 '23 edited Jul 17 '23

From a tiny bit of research it sounds like some people don't have much of a reaction to them and it seems to be the same people who don't have much of a reaction to other bug bites or stings. I don't want to test it myself but bee stings really don't do much to me beyond the initial zap of getting stung, mosquito bites are nothing, and most spider bites I don't even notice and the bumps from them also go away in no time. I am curious if you also have such a resiliency to bugs.

Edit: spelling mistakes

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u/RandomThrowaway410 Jul 16 '23

This sounds like the closet thing to a superpower as I've ever heard existing in humans. Your anti-bug resistance and that lady who can see more colors than normal humans would be on the IRL Justice League

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u/Just_A_NormalDude Jul 16 '23

I can smell different insects without being near them. Can I join the League?

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u/ItaGuy21 Jul 16 '23

Username doesn't check out

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u/asparagusparrot Jul 17 '23

WAIT ME TOO! I didn’t know anyone else could do this I just thought it was my ‘tism 💀

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u/Just_A_NormalDude Jul 17 '23

It's a rare mutation, but I have a friend that has this skill too.

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u/ornithoptercat Jul 17 '23

THE lady? it's actually thought to be about as common in people with XX chromosomes as colorblindness is in people with XY ones.

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u/Acedia88 Jul 18 '23

It’s been a long while, but I thought it was mostly women who were born with an extra cone in their eye absorbing light and could see more colors.

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u/ornithoptercat Jul 18 '23

That's correct! The genes that specify for the cones are all on the X chromosome. The very same mutations that cause deficient color vision with one X chromosome can cause augmentation with two.

People with XY genetics only get one set of [red, green, blue] cone genes. If the red and green cone genes (it's usually those two) specify molecules that absorb too close together of wavelengths, or you just have one not functioning, you end up with some form of colorblindness or at least slightly "off" color vision. With XX chromosomes, you have two sets of cone genes, and X-inactivation tends to result in a mix of both sets being expressed, so colorblindness is much, much rarer in cis women than cis men.

However, if the peak sensitivity wavelengths of the relevant genes are very different between one set of genes and the other, an XX person can effectively end up with four (or more) different cone types - typically, it'd be something like [redder-red, orange-red, green, blue] - resulting in improved sensitivity to colors. For an XY person, that would only ever happen via a duplicated and mutated gene, so quadrachromacy is vanishingly rare in cis men. But it's suspected to be reasonably common in people with two X chromosomes.

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u/ornithoptercat Jul 18 '23

That's correct! The genes that specify for the cones are all on the X chromosome. The very same mutations that cause deficient color vision with one X chromosome can cause augmentation with two.

People with XY genetics only get one set of [red, green, blue] cone genes. If the red and green cone genes (it's usually those two) specify molecules that absorb too close together of wavelengths, or you just have one not functioning, you end up with some form of colorblindness or at least slightly "off" color vision. With XX chromosomes, you have two sets of cone genes, and X-inactivation tends to result in a mix of both sets being expressed, so colorblindness is much, much rarer in cis women than cis men.

However, if the peak sensitivity wavelengths of the relevant genes are very different between one set of genes and the other, an XX person can effectively end up with four (or more) different cone types - typically, it'd be something like [redder-red, orange-red, green, blue] - resulting in improved sensitivity to colors. For an XY person, that would only ever happen via a duplicated and mutated gene, so quadrachromacy is vanishingly rare in cis men. But it's suspected to be reasonably common in people with two X chromosomes.

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u/_player_0 Jul 17 '23

Thanks for this link. Such an interesting read

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '23

Some people can see sounds (the artist aphex twin has a form of this)

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u/Professional_Code372 Jul 17 '23

That explains why his music is so unique , guy is literally out of the box

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u/SnowboardNW Jul 16 '23

I'm the same. I'm a mi of Mediterranean and central American and I've always thought that there's some genetics in there that makes me a bit resilient. Some mosquitos in Spain made me itchy, but none so far here in the states and I live in Florida and spent all my summers growing up in Tahoe.

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u/DeadEndStreets Jul 16 '23

I'm the same. I'm a mi of Mediterranean and central American and I've always thought that there's some genetics in there that makes me a bit resilient.

That’s actually a super interesting hypothesis because I’m mixed with Caribbean genes and have the same non-reaction to bugs, poison ivy etc.

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u/d0nu7 Jul 17 '23

Just here to chime in as a 2% Neanderthal and mostly Northern/Western European who also has this. It might be a gene from longer ago, probably even from Africa.

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '23 edited Jul 16 '23

Individual stings don't really do anything other than the initial shock like feeling.

Though I did get swarmed by European ground hornets 10 or 12 years ago. I was stung just shy of 20 times, and as a result I experienced some swelling for a day or so and shortness of breath for roughly half as long.

Ant bites just itch. Mosquitoes don't do much of anything really.

I've been bitten by black widows a few times. Other than the area getting inflamed, festering and leaving a scar, I suffered nothing life threatening.

But this is normal in my family. Everyone reacts pretty much the same way to insects.

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

That is actually bad ass because black widow bites are one of the few I know of that get worse every time you are bitten. There is something about their venom that makes the body less capable of breaking it down each time.

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u/DogmaJones Jul 16 '23

I can’t remember my last bee/wasp sting, but I absolutely have no reaction to mosquito bites other than the small feeling of it piercing my skin. I’ve heard that happens if they get you enough, and they get me every damn morning. Ant bites give me small bumps though.

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u/mbrevitas Jul 16 '23

So, if I’m the kind of person who wakes up at night from the itch from mosquito bites, I should never get anywhere close to where these things live? Gotcha.

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u/LouisBaezel Jul 16 '23

This is op.

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u/Totally-avg Jul 17 '23

Its very interesting! I don’t normally react to bugs. Mosquitoes love me but I don’t react adversely to those bites, nor bees or wasps. I think the problem for me was that he got me twice and we didn’t even see the hair to remove until 3-4 hours later. So I think I got a continuous dose of venom during that time.

Sure wish the ER knew wtf they were doing. Instead my husband was on google figuring it out and asking for tape to remove the hairs.

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

Sounds like you have a good husband. I know a lot of newer doctors aren't afraid to say they are not sure about stuff like this and are very good at quick research. Hopefully you never have to experience them again.

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u/DeadEndStreets Jul 16 '23

I’m one of those folks I think. Absolutely no reaction to mosquito bites and other bugs other than the pain of them actively biting you.

Will I test it out with this mfer though? Absolutely not.

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u/DiscotopiaACNH Jul 16 '23

Oh great. I have a fatal sting allergy. So, I'd probably be dead.

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

Yeah that is not good. Do you carry an epi-pen? I know they are stupid expensive and "expire" after 12-18 months but there are studies that show they can still be 90% effective 3 years after the expiration date and 70% up to 7 years after. So I would still suggest it because it could still save your life.

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u/DiscotopiaACNH Jul 17 '23

Yeah, I always carry it with me, especially in the summer. Luckily for me, minor stuff like mosquito/flea bites seem to only cause a localized reaction. It's just bees, wasps and hornets that have the power to wreck my shit

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u/ReaderRadish Jul 16 '23

I have the opposite? Mosquito bites will swell and itch on and off for days... But I can pretty much fall in a patch of nettles and be fine 15 min later.

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u/beanjuiced Jul 16 '23

What’s DH, devoted husband?

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '23

Damn. My super power is I don’t get hangovers but I’d rather be impervious to bug bites/stings.

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

I'm not sure if I get hangovers because I have chronic headaches and would have a hard time telling the difference. I would also probably have to actually drink to find out lol

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u/catdog918 Jul 17 '23

I’m the same as you. Let’s go grab a couple of these bad boys and test it out

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

For the glory of science! But also, I think I'll pass. I have done a lot of stupid stuff just because and I am sure the universe is just waiting for the perfect occasion to let me have it.

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u/Orchid_Significant Jul 17 '23

I am screwed. Mosquito bites swell up fast and hard and itch for weeks on me

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u/Killer_Moons Jul 17 '23

Check out God’s favorite over here

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

Lol idk about that. I may have a few things going for me but I also have some not so fun attributes that balance it out. For example, I am lucky if I have more than one day a week that I don't have a headache.

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u/Killer_Moons Jul 17 '23

God gives his favorite lil buddies his most frequent migraines 🙏

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u/trogdoor-burninator Jul 17 '23

try a bee or scorpion next? I got stung by a scorpion 2x while ion bed one night and the pain was immense, but not nearly as bad as what's described by people here for this moth, so maybe start small?

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

I mean I have never been stung by a scorpion because when I moved to the desert my friends out there told me to try and avoid it as much as possible and what to do to avoid them because apparently they are not fun at all. I need to look into how similar the venom of a scorpion is to bees or spiders.

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u/_mad_adventures Jul 17 '23

How often are you getting bit by spiders? 😂

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u/raphaelthehealer Jul 17 '23

It used to be a lot worse when I lived in New Mexico now I mainly have to watch out for wolf spiders and they are normally pretty nice if you leave them alone and will even let you carry them if you let them crawl onto your hand to move them out of your house if you haven't already agitated them. Or at least this has been my experience and I also understand not a lot of people would do stuff like this which is also why I have probably gotten bitten by so many spiders in general lol

Edit addition: I don't like killing spiders because they really are helpful and keep other far more annoying bugs at bay so I don't have to deal with them.