{"id":255,"date":"2025-10-13T19:05:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T19:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/255\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T19:05:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T19:05:06","slug":"dont-pet-this-furry-florida-creature-its-sting-can-send-you-to-the-er-wildlife-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/255\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t pet this “furry” Florida creature \u2014 its sting can send you to the ER, wildlife experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, it wouldn’t be Florida without another creepy crawler<\/a> to worry about, right?<\/p>\n

Wildlife officials say it’s the season for puss caterpillars \u2013 one of the most venomous insects in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Puss caterpillars in Florida<\/p>\n

The puss caterpillar gets its name from its resemblance to a cat’s soft fur, according to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida<\/a>. The fuzzy coating may look harmless, but hidden among those hair-like bristles are extremely toxic spines that can stick to your skin if touched.<\/p>\n

The species is stout-bodied and about an inch long, covered in gray or pale brown hairs, the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences<\/a> noted. That soft, furry appearance often makes them seem safe to handle \u2014 but they’re anything but.<\/p>\n

What happens when stung by a puss caterpillar<\/p>\n

If a person is stung, the pain can be intense and radiate throughout the body. UF experts said the hollow spines each have a tiny venom gland at the base, and the sting can cause a burning sensation followed by a red, grid-like pattern on the skin that mirrors the caterpillar’s spines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some people may also experience headache, nausea, fever or even seizures in severe cases.<\/p>\n

The Florida Poison Control Center<\/a> said if you’re stung, place clear tape over the affected area and strip off repeatedly to remove the spines from the skin. Then, apply ice to reduce the stinging feeling, followed by a paste of baking soda and water.\u00a0 Officials also recommend using an oral antihistamine or hydrocortisone cream to help with irritation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Medical attention is advised if symptoms continue to worsen, especially for people with asthma or allergies.<\/p>\n

Where puss caterpillars live and what they turn into<\/p>\n

According to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, the species is found from New Jersey to Florida and as far west as Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s most commonly seen in Florida during the fall and spring months on oak and elm trees.<\/p>\n

Puss caterpillar cocoons can be found on small twigs, branches, or depressions in tree bark \u2014 and some, according to Fish & Wildlife, even wander away from trees to spin their cocoons on nearby buildings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After about 16 days inside, the larvae emerge as southern flannel moths, small yellow-and-orange moths with thick, fur-like bristles on their bodies. Females are slightly larger than males, with wingspans reaching up to 1.5 inches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Well, it wouldn’t be Florida without another creepy crawler to worry about, right? Wildlife officials say it’s the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,505],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-insects"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}