MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Hey, remember that movie “Evolution” with David Duchovny, Julianne Moore and Orlando Jones in which an asteroid falls to Earth and produces all sorts of weird, so-ugly-they’re-cute alien lifeforms that threaten the future of humanity in various semi-comedic ways?
(Of course you don’t remember “Evolution.” No one does.)
Well, the 352 is currently enduring an annual invasion by a so-ugly-it’s-cute little lifeform that kinda looks like it doesn’t know if it’s coming or going.
When (not if) you see one, you might be tempted to pick it up, just to point it in the right direction.
Don’t.
It’s a tussock moth caterpillar, and those fuzzy little hairs covering it are actually bristles that can deliver a painful, poisonous sting.
These larvae of the tussock moth, a few species of which are native to the region, love oak trees, which means they’re pretty much everywhere around here from late spring through the summer. If you’ve got live oaks or other trees in your yard or around your office, chances are you’ve already seen at least one trundling across your front walk or the roof of your car.
While not exactly a nuisance species, the caterpillars can be a problem for pets, or for people in a hurry and perhaps not paying enough attention to where they’re resting their hands.
If you do have pets or children, or just generally don’t want to have to deal with them, the University of Florida’s Thompson Earth Systems Institute suggests sweeping them into a bucket of soapy water. And if you do happen to come into contact with one and get stung, use some tape to make sure all the bristly hairs come out of and off your skin.
The Florida Poison Control Center also notes that if an infant or child has a serious reaction to a sting, contact them at 1-800-222-1222.