I know what you might be thinking. Who in their right mind would consider picking up this prickly little creature in their hand, right? The answer, rather obviously, is me. And in case you might be wondering, the spikes aren't hard and itchy, they are more like fur and they do not itch. Of course, the trick is in knowing which caterpillars fall in that category. This little Leopard Lacewing crawler friend stayed with me for the better part of a day, crawling around my T-shirt while I looked for other interesting stuff to photograph. These caterpillars are quite tame and won't harm you or try to run away if you handle them gently. As you can see, this little one was quite happy to roam about in my hand without a care in the world. It was later released into the garden, quite unwillingly, if I might add!
Steepshot