These caterpillars are often furry and brightly colored to warn predators that they are unpleasant to eat. One group of caterpillars is the tiger moth family. Woolly bear caterpillar by Stephanie Moon They may seem insignificant, but they keep our ecosystems running. One nesting family of chickadees will eat thousands of caterpillars in one summer. They are essential to the diet of most of Ohio’s songbirds. They go through metamorphosis, changing first into a pupa (sometimes inside a cocoon, sometimes not), and then turning into a butterfly or moth. They have six true legs and several pairs of prolegs that grasp branches and prevent them from falling off. What is a caterpillar?įirst of all, caterpillars are insects. I will attempt to set the facts straight about this caterpillar. Unfortunately, much of her information was simply wrong and has spread across social media without correction. Her mother thought it would be helpful to warn people that this was a bad idea. As far as I can tell, this all started with another post that described the effects of a little girl’s decision to lick one of these caterpillars. The “caterpillar terror” has only surfaced in the last few years and is a bit mystifying to us. Don’t touch it!”Īs naturalists, we are constantly dispelling myths and calming fears about our native wildlife, but we are typically fielding questions about the usual suspects: snakes, spiders, bats, coyotes. More importantly, it has hairs with barbs that can stick into your skin and its back contains rash-giving venom. It can be either white or brightly colored. This is a venomous caterpillar from Canada known as the White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar and it’s been spotted in northeast Ohio. “POISONOUS CATERPILLAR FOUND IN OHIO- It may look like a woolly worm.but it’s not. You may have seen this post somewhere on social media:
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