Photos of Puss Caterpillar Stings by Jerry Cates
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Some of these "hairs" are stouter than the others, and are probably venomous spines. But this still does not explain how the venom is delivered from the caterpillar's belly region. I've not examined this guy under the microscope. What do you think I'll find when I do? Most likely, some minute spines around each "foot", judging from the pattern left on T.S.'s arm.
II. Several Hours/Days Later: [Thanks to M.S., Missouri City, Texas, for the photos shown below, taken on October 17, 2003] As the photos below show, the lesion produced by the puss caterpillar sting consists of dark red nodules that persist for days.
This young fellow was also stung on his right foot. A wide angle view is shown at right, and a close-up of the lesion is shown below. The character of this lesion suggests the foot contacted the caterpillar's ventral or lateral surfaces, perhaps by brushing against a caterpillar attached to another object.
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I.
Immediately After Being Stung: As these
photos show, the initial presentment is a swelling of the sting site, and
a reddening of the skin locally.
[Thanks to T.S., who sent these to me after being stung by a puss caterpillar while visiting Brazos Bend State Park, Texas, on Oct. 12, 2003. ] The photo at left is of a sting on the arm. The outline of the puss caterpillar is very obvious. This proves that the caterpillar is capable of delivering severe stings from stingers in its ventral body. The photo below is a close up of one of the images shown on the main puss caterpillar page. It shows how the hairs of this organism form a protective umbrella around its soft body parts.
The sting shown at left was on T.S.'s upper chest, just above the armpit and below the shoulder. Again, the outline of the caterpillar is very obvious. The photo below shows a third sting on T.S.'s arm, near the armpit.
In the photo at left, the upper arm of a young male subject was stung in several places. This photo was taken approx. 10 hours later. Note that the features of the caterpillar's dorsal structures are displayed by the welts left by the its stings. This suggests, even more convincingly than by the initial sting presentment, that venomous spines are present at around each "foot".
If you have photos of puss caterpillar stings, please send them to jcates@austin.rr.com. If your photos show unusual presentments that add to the information provided by the photos shown here, they will be added to this page. |
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