Monday, August 10, 2009

Mystery Photo



I have the job of dumping the photos from the cameras onto the computer, and labeling them. When the above photo showed up on my computer screen, I stared at it for a good while, trying to figure out what I was looking at. Bethany walked right up and said, "Oh, look at the caterpillars."

Here's a closer look. I think the fact that the caterpillars were all lined up in rows and clumped together threw me off. Well, and that they are big!



Anyone want to go the extra mile, and find a name for these specific creepy crawlies?

10 comments:

J said...

Those things are huge!

Terri on SL said...

My daughter thinks they are a type of oak caterpillar with poisonous hairs. She can't remember the name of them.

Unknown said...

I just saw these on Discovery Channel tonight (a British guy who does survival shows all over the world was in Ecuadoran cloud forest). I don't remember what he called them, but they are covered with poisonous hairs that he said can cause irritation for up to one year after contact. Stay away! :-)

Pam L. in Maryland said...

EWWWWWW..... ickkkkkkkk....... I just KNEW there was a reason I live in MARYLAND!! And for another thing that will only mildly creep you out -- check out my blog later today, where I will post photos of artwork from the Atlanta Airport. They actually have no-so-little sculptures (??) of fire ants crawling across the ceiling in the baggage claim area!!!

Carolyn in Japan said...

Here's what I found. Is it the caterpillar of the Saturniid Moth-Arsenura Armida?

Trish said...

Carolyn - if that isn't exactly the same caterpillar, it is certainly close! I can't figure out how you researched this - all I was able to do was look at random pictures of caterpillars, and hope I stumbled on the right one!

Thanks for doing the research for me!

And to those who warned us about "poisonous hairs" - I appreciate it! Plenty of members of my family would think nothing of picking one of these up in their hands!

Unknown said...

Yikes. I may have nightmares.

Pam L. in Maryland said...

Trish -- I sent your picture off to "What's That Bug" website, and they agree with your other poster -- it's an Arsenura Armida. Here's a website with more info and pictures to compare: http://web.cortland.edu/fitzgerald/arsenura.html.

Enjoy your critters!!

Jacinta Mucosa said...

my husband says they are called gusanos de cablote because they are on the cablote tree

Anonymous said...

This catterpillars are in central, and south america back in el salvador we called them "guasano de cablote" because they are in the "cablote tree" ,they are huge and they have poisonous hairs, if they ever get in contact with your skin they get stuck to you and you have to cut them by pieces just take them off. They scatter too when it rains they crawl - all over the place there creepy!!!