Peter Dexter
Well-known member
Here is a caterpillar I saw today.
As I moved it gently into position for the photo with a piece of plastic at hand I think the tip of one of the spines broke off as they are designed to do when anything brushes against them and the globule is the venom it would inject. It was pretty viscous. Not sure though.
Should you brush against caterpillars with spikes or urticating hairs the result can be quite painful (personal experience). These caterpillars have venom sacs at the base of the spikes. The spike tips are quite fragile and designed to break off at the least provocation. Venom is then injected into the passerby.
In my case (with a different critter) the pain was quite strong and lasted a good hour. By comparison the ant bite stings I get here are intense but the pain is gone after a couple of minutes.
As I moved it gently into position for the photo with a piece of plastic at hand I think the tip of one of the spines broke off as they are designed to do when anything brushes against them and the globule is the venom it would inject. It was pretty viscous. Not sure though.
Should you brush against caterpillars with spikes or urticating hairs the result can be quite painful (personal experience). These caterpillars have venom sacs at the base of the spikes. The spike tips are quite fragile and designed to break off at the least provocation. Venom is then injected into the passerby.
In my case (with a different critter) the pain was quite strong and lasted a good hour. By comparison the ant bite stings I get here are intense but the pain is gone after a couple of minutes.