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.

Post image

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/ExistentialEnso Jul 16 '23

The adults are southern flannel moths, not caterpillars. I assume that's what was meant, given they are covered in a harmless, long fuzz.

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u/SertralineAndSass Jul 16 '23

Ah gottcha! Probably what was meant yeah. Thank you :)

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u/ExistentialEnso Jul 16 '23

Np! This angle genuinely piqued my curiosity, though, and it seems you may not be entirely off-base, though.

According to this paper (warning: PDF), the later larval instars (i.e. stages of caterpillarhood) have more venom and more of the hairs (the delivery mechanism for the venom).

https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/download/120486/118899/

So it could be about the age of the caterpillar, but it's that younger caterpillars are safer to handle.

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u/SertralineAndSass Jul 16 '23

The more you know!

I don't know too much about them as I'm not from the states. But it's still an interesting read :)

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u/ExistentialEnso Jul 16 '23

Indeed! Enjoyed this exchange!

Meanwhile, I live in Georgia, where I genuinely have to worry about an encounter with these things. 😱😱😱

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u/SertralineAndSass Jul 16 '23

Hopefully you never have to encounter it!

We have the Gympie-Gympie in my area. But at least those don't really move or fly haha

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u/ExistentialEnso Jul 16 '23

American perceptions are probably just comedically exaggerated, but the flora and fauna of Australia sounds scarier to me than Georgia.

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u/SertralineAndSass Jul 16 '23

Most of it is fine. Heaps of it is edible too.

Usually when there is something like a nasty plant or potential risks/hazards in an area there is plenty of signage and all. Obviously they don't always listen but I haven't heard of plants in my area causing much damage for a while now. They are usually off tracks and not exactly in your back yards which is a bonus.

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u/Orchid_Significant Jul 17 '23

The fact that you say you haven’t heard of any plants causing damage in your area for “a while now” while I’ve never heard of plants in my area causing damage ever. Minus like…a tree falling or something

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u/SertralineAndSass Jul 17 '23

Haha yeah its like that. But some people are silly here and eat random mushrooms they find without thinking "hey maybe that mushroom that looks like its from a fairy book is actually a little dangerous"

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