We've had an invasion in the garden - this beautiful fluffy red caterpillars are hiding in our garden and are super poisonous. My empregada bought one to show me as we have to make sure we get rid of them with kids running around the house. I thought she was telling me a poisonous flower and so we went out into the garden to find more, where I watched her drop the "flower" to the ground and crush it under her foot. Gross.
I've just had to google what they are... It's a Megalopyge albicollis caterpillar. They have poisonous spines underneath all that fluff which can cause an extreme allergic reaction which includes rashes, blisters, inflammation and breathing difficulty.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/pictures/120301-best-news-pictures-we-love-aurora-india-dogs/#/best-news-pictures-02-2012-caterpillar_49401_600x450.jpg
Source: http://www.thefeaturedcreature.com/2013/08/the-most-dangerous-piece-of-ginger-fluff-youll-ever-meet-probably.html
Woolly worms where I'm from (Missouri, USA) are perfectly safe. Here in Uberlândia everyone tells me they are terribly poisonous. I find it hard to believe, but am not willing to run the risk of being wrong and getting "burned."
ReplyDelete