Stinging caterpillar
Annie's gardening law...if it's anywhere within 5 miles of my property, it will either be crawling on me, buzzing around my head or stinging me. What can I say? I'm just irresistible to flying or stinging varmints. So goes my encounter with a buckmoth caterpillar a few weeks ago. I'm minding my own business trying to get a good picture of my pitiful looking mock orange, who has finally decided to grace me with a few blooms this year. Note the mock orange is close to an oak tree. The oak tree being really important later on. I walk back to the house and notice the coreopsis is begging for a picture also, so I sit down on the steps of the deck to click away. Being not as graceful as I once was, I put my hand down on the deck to steady myself. Ouch! I'm looking at a smear of goopy looking stuff all over the palm of my hand. If it didn't hurt so bad, I would totally be grossed out. I run inside to wash it off. It's still stinging. Go back outside to the scene of the crime and notice a smashed, black, hairy looking caterpillar laying on the deck. He must had wanted to be a little adventurous and hitched a ride on me from the oak tree. Hmmmmmm, I bet he didn't plan on the palm of my hand ending his adventure. Painful revenge So, to the computer I go and babying my left, still very much stinging hand, I google the darn thing. Here it is.....
Buckmoth caterpillar. Moths lay their eggs on the branches of oak trees, caterpillars hatch in late spring, feed on the leaves, drop to the ground, hide out in the soil in mid-June, emerge in fall as moth and start their whole cycle all over. Whew! Their hollow, sharp black spines are attached to poisonous sacks and when they come in contact with an enemy or an innocent, unsuspecting gardener, poison is released. The sting can last for days and days. Mine lessened considerably, but I could still feel it even 3-4 days after. Some people, even though not allergic to bee stings, can be to the caterpillars and have a reaction ranging from moderate to severe.
They will be found near oaks, so watch the kiddos or grandkids in the yard, that they don't try to pick one up. If one gets on you, try to brush it off very quickly, though you'll probably still get stung some. Just don't pick it up! I took the picture above, this morning. They're crawling on the ground now, so they're probably getting ready to hibernate in the soil. I hope so. I read where New Orleans spray their Live Oaks because these caterpillers are such a huge problem. Well, I'm totally freaked out going under an oak right now. The mock orange is on it's own.
Buckmoth caterpillar. Moths lay their eggs on the branches of oak trees, caterpillars hatch in late spring, feed on the leaves, drop to the ground, hide out in the soil in mid-June, emerge in fall as moth and start their whole cycle all over. Whew! Their hollow, sharp black spines are attached to poisonous sacks and when they come in contact with an enemy or an innocent, unsuspecting gardener, poison is released. The sting can last for days and days. Mine lessened considerably, but I could still feel it even 3-4 days after. Some people, even though not allergic to bee stings, can be to the caterpillars and have a reaction ranging from moderate to severe.
They will be found near oaks, so watch the kiddos or grandkids in the yard, that they don't try to pick one up. If one gets on you, try to brush it off very quickly, though you'll probably still get stung some. Just don't pick it up! I took the picture above, this morning. They're crawling on the ground now, so they're probably getting ready to hibernate in the soil. I hope so. I read where New Orleans spray their Live Oaks because these caterpillers are such a huge problem. Well, I'm totally freaked out going under an oak right now. The mock orange is on it's own.
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