I am back in Georgia pulling up my Sweet potato plants and I almost grabbed this caterpillar. It would have been bad, and was not wearing gloves at the time so yeah glad it did not happen. When I saw it I pointed it out to @lovely.logic that was helping me harvest Sweet potatoes. Said it was dangerous and not to touch it. I placed it off to the side and honestly forgot about it. Later in the day I went to ID it and sure enough it is a Saddleback! One of the most venomous caterpillars out there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddleback_caterpillar
 Camera Model | Lumix GH6 |
|---|---|
 Lens | Olympus MSC ED M. 60mm Macro lens |
 Filter | none |
 Aperture | f/7.1 |
 Shutter Speed | 1/250 sec |
 Film Speed | 800 |
 Spectrum | Visual Light |
 Wavelength | 380 through 700 nanometers |
 Location | North Georgia USA. |
Here are some of the symptoms of their sting:
Some of the symptoms include headaches, conjunctivitis, difficulty breathing, gastrointestinal symptoms, asthma complications, anaphylactic shock and hemorrhaging.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddleback_caterpillar#Dangers_and_treatments_of_stings
Luckily I did not touch it, so I had none of these issues. But I was quickly aware I am dealing with a very dangerous caterpillar.
It stayed completely still, and seems to know nothing will touch it.
I mean look at that face.. very menacing.
It seemed happy to just rest on my Sweet potato leaf, I took some pictures of it with my new camera and just left alone.
Glad I did not touch it, otherwise I would not be writing this post right now. Rather treating my hands for a terrible caterpillar sting.
On the good news side here was our 2022 Sweet potato harvest.. Almost all of them were good, no chipmunk damage this year. I have not weighed them but it looks like at least 10 pounds.
So cute
Hey bud, long time no see :-)
Hah yeah it is kinda cute.
That is a nice looking caterpillar , amazig to see the spikes and camouflage good protection against predators
Yeah glad the pictures came out showing the spikes, they are hard to see in person but with a macro lens all the details come out.
that is why i love macro photrography so much at home on the bigscreen you always find some extra surpirises when you study your photos.
I glad you didn't!!!
Oh, wow!
That critter looks like an alien with green glasses!
Yeah me too, hehe yeah it has those bandit eye coverings.
Damn dude, that thing looks so cool! That green color is such a cool shade. I wouldn't touch it, but it gets my vote for coolest looking caterpillar ever.
Hah yeah why do the most dangerous insects have to be the most dangerous... lol
I do like that green too.
Hi Solominer
Gosh that thing just looks like it wants to take a piece out of you, I didn't even know they were that venomous, that's crazy! There are some caterpillars that I've heard hiss and shoot those little barbs on their head out at anything close by that they feel is threatening. I'm glad you chose to not touch that critter.
Now the next question is this: Do those buggers eat your sweet potato leaves? I think I would have relocated it somewhere over ttttthhhhhhheeeerrrrreee. Makes me wonder if a cat had to take a sniff of that thing and get stung, would it be lethal?
Oh interesting I need to look into the ones that hiss. IDK about them shooting spines, never seen that before.
They may eat them, but I only saw one so its not much of a problem. There are many other caterpillars that are more of the problem eating my plants.. This one is more just of a handling problem.
I would assume cats have the smarts to stay away from them. Once I found a Saddleback by a pond and put it in the water, the fish would not touch it.. they know its dangerous.. So I assume the cats do too.
Well I suppose if you're really venomous you don't have to worry that much about being picked on so you can eat whichever leaves you feel like eating without having to rely on camouflage and so on.
Hopefully cats would be smart enough to stay clear, although I've met some really dumb cats in my time that liked to play with injured bees and then got booped on the snozzle. I really wouldn't want my cats finding one of those nasties.
I'm glad you are ok, and that you got a nice harvest :)
The little guy doesn't look menacing, except for those barbed hairs. He looks like he has a green jacket on!
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Thanks man, and yeah should last us at least half the year id say :-)
Hah, you just cannot judge a book by its cover with these things.. some look dangerous and they are not.. others look quite curious and are deadly.
thanks for the tokens!
My pleasure :) ... I used to handle all manner of fuzzy caterpillars, but gently. Never realized that they might be able to give more than a mild rash!
Glad you didn't touch it either. What an odd colored insect. Nice sweet potato harvest.
Thank you, yeah it sure is and much appreciated.
Ahhh it looks like he has a little jacket on... Damn beautiful photos bud. Stay at it👌
hah! it sure does!
thanks much, more macro shots coming.
When I was a kid in scouts, we were camping and in the morning I tried to put my sneakers on. Something prickly was in my shoe. I pulled my foot out, and there was a big prickly caterpillar there the like of which I had never seen before on my sock. I shrieked and kicked and it flung off. Later someone told me that it was a poisonous variety, but I couldn't tell you off that was accurate or not as I don't remember what it looked like. Up until then I hadn't known any caterpillars could be poisonous. Now I respect them and check first. 😂
Oh man thats my biggest fear when putting on my boots.. I try to shake them out but once in awhile I do not and take a chance.. haha
Well glad you did not get hurt or stung by it.
I sat in a chair once that had one of those saddle-back caterpillars crawling on it and got stung on the back! It took several days for the area to quit being sore but now I always look closely at chairs before sitting in them.
Ouch! That sucks man, hopefully you had someone near by to help remove the spines... I hear tape works well on the affected area.
hehe yeah always take a look before sitting down or putting shoes on.
Ha! I had no one around but managed to use some duct tape to pull out as many hairs as I could. Being shirtless when it happened sure did not help!
I definitely do more than take a look at stuff anymore and even shake out my clothes before putting them on. I have a long habit (since childhood) of turning my shoes over and banging them together before putting them on but the rest of it never really clicked until that caterpillar encounter.
Of all the critters I have been bitten or stung by that was the most annoying one!
Wow ! quite a chance you didn’t touch it 😅 We never know with those insects but I’ve always been suspicious about spiky caterpillars like this... even with its amazing and beautiful camouflage pattern !
Thanks for sharing this story, those nice shoots and bravo for this abondante harvest 😉
Yeah me too, hehe yeah those spines are usually dangerous but there are a few out there that they are soft when touched.
thanks much, yeah it was quite the yield!
Didn't meet those ones yet ^^
I hope the future crop will be that impressive :)
I just organized a new contest in a community focused about unity and the subject is on Nature, just made the connection and wanted to let you know if you’re interested :)
Enjoy your weekend ✌🏼
Oh nice, I am pretty busy moving right now so may not have time to enter a contest but surely can consider it once things slow down around here.
After seeing your recent articles, that's what I thought :) But I wanted to let you know anyway !
Dude, it is like, "touch me and you die." You're really lucky you didn't touch him. Look at these symptoms. The potatoes look pretty good. Have a nice day!
Hah yeah it does not mess around...
Yeah it was quite the harvest, thanks man you too.
@solominer That is a terrifying little critter. I haven't seen a caterpillar with such vibrant colors in such a long time but that little dude sure takes the cake, plus they got all those mean-looking bristles too. Those symptoms for its venom are no joke. Glad you were able to spot it. Also congrats on that massive sweet-potato haul, looks like very successful gardening!
Hehe yeah it sure does look mean... and thanks yeah glad I did not touch it.
Much appreciated, it sure was.
wow. it is scary for me
hah sure is
At first glance, when I saw the post and this caterpillar, I thought you put it on to keep it from getting cold ;))
haha no would not suggest handling this.
I have never seen this insect before. I saw it for the first time Looking very dangerous
Oh maybe they are just around where I live..
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Is awesome
haha okay
@solominer Scary but beautiful caterpillar, which I have never seen before.Thanks for sharing.
Ah maybe they are just in the eastern US..
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