Bug identification website

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:04 pm

I am still wondering about this caterpillar-- the one in the You Tube video

here's a picture from Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopyge_opercularis

It looks huge, but if you read here

http://bugguide.net/node/view/4476#size

Puss Caterpillar refers to cat-like form of caterpillar, perhaps. Asp refers to sting of caterpillar, is a local name used in Texas......Larvae to 30 mm.

30 mm is about one inch and a quarter. That's a decent sized caterpillar but not huge. So what's that black object in the video, like a table leg or something? it would have to be less than an inch across???

This is quite a mystery!!!

I had a medical entomology class with lots of ickies, but I don't remember talking about this one.

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:49 pm

Steamwalker wrote:In the US, that would be Canadian beer

You are forgiven. With that 3% fairy pee you are used to (like making love in a canoe) I realize you have no concept of what beer really is.

djm

Steamwalker · Post by **Steamwalker** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:30 pm

djm wrote:
Steamwalker wrote:In the US, that would be Canadian beer
You are forgiven. With that 3% fairy pee you are used to (like making love in a canoe) I realize you have no concept of what beer really is.

djm

/offtopic

I forgive you in turn. I imagine you haven't sampled many of our beers. Here in San Diego, we have our fair share of regional breweries, including Karl Strauss, Stone Brewery and Gordon Biersch. A Canadian buddy of mine came down to San Diego last year and loved Biersch, he even took some back with him to Canada. And, man, this guy could drink.

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:08 pm

Caroluna wrote:I am still wondering about this caterpillar-- the one in the You Tube video

here's a picture from Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopyge_opercularis

It looks huge, but if you read here

http://bugguide.net/node/view/4476#size

Puss Caterpillar refers to cat-like form of caterpillar, perhaps. Asp refers to sting of caterpillar, is a local name used in Texas......Larvae to 30 mm.
30 mm is about one inch and a quarter. That's a decent sized caterpillar but not huge. So what's that black object in the video, like a table leg or something? it would have to be less than an inch across???

This is quite a mystery!!!
I had a medical entomology class with lots of ickies, but I don't remember talking about this one.

I think the Bolivian Bug is a wonderful joke. The Bolivian Bug is crawling on the sidewalk---you can see the divisions in the cement. The black thing must be a post of some kind. I think the Bolivian Bug is at the very least one foot long. You can hear the traffic in the background too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeNggIGS ... ed&search=

In addition to the info you supplied:

Stinging Caterpillars A Guide to Recognition of Species Found on Alabama Trees wrote:Puss Caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis) (Photo 7)

The puss caterpillar (the adult is called southern flannel moth) is our most "dangerous" stinging caterpillar. Contact may produce severe reactions including: intense burning and nettling of the skin; severe pain; reddening and inflammation; development of pustules and other lesions; numbness; swelling, which may sometimes be extensive; and nausea. Pain may persist from one to twelve or more hours. In some instances, victims have required medical attention. The larva is urticating in all stages, but severity of the reaction is generally proportional to size. Also, newly molted skins retain stinging capabilities.

The caterpillar is thickly covered with fine, long, tan, grayish to brown hairs, among which are hidden venomous setae. Hairs peak roof-like over the back and taper rearward to form a "tail". Hairs along the "ridge" of the back occur in small tufts; on each side are small patches of white. The full-grown larva is about 1 inch long, but with its hairy coat, appears to be much larger. The overall length of the specimen shown at left in Photo 7 is 15/8 inches.

Puss caterpillars feed on foliage of a variety of broadleaf trees and shrubs. Some common tree hosts are apple, elm, hackberry, maple, oak, pecan, and sycamore. Two larval broods likely occur each season in Alabama, one in spring and early summer and one in late summer and fall. It is the caterpillars of the second brood that are most often encountered. Specimens pictured here were collected in Lee County during September.

Puss caterpillars. The caterpillar at the left is fully grown;
the one at right is still developing, note the recently shed
(and still urticaceous) skin beside the larva.

These are videos of Puss caterpillars, Megalopyge opercularis--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDxZXGZ_4As&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw3yPAuc ... ed&search=

There is also Megalopyge crispata:

BugGuide wrote: Hodges Number
4644

Other Common Names
Crinkled Flannel Moth (1), White Flannel Moth (2)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Lagoa crispata

Size
Wingspan 2.5-4 cm

Range
Includes eastern North America.

Habitat
Deciduous forests

Season
May-October

Food
Adults likely do not feed.

Life Cycle
Larvae feed on many different trees and shrubs, see Covell. (3)

Remarks
Caution, Hairs on caterpillar highly irritating, as in all of this family!

See Also
Southern Flannel Moth - Megalopyge opercularis.

Another bunch of photos:
http://www.bugsinthenews.com/puss_cater ... 092602.htm

From http://www.cryptozoology.com/forum/topi ... pid=391295

"It is a Puss Caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis) and the advice heard on the video of "Don't touch it!" is VERY valid!

The puss caterpillar is considered to be near the top of the list of stinging caterpillars in terms of the severity of its sting.

These caterpillars have been called by several names, including puss caterpillar, wooly slugs, opossum bugs, tree asps, and, in Mexico, el perrito (little dog)."-------This person seems to think the one in the video is real, as do many others. This picture looks the most like the video, but it still looks quite different. This caterpillar is not crawling on a sidewalk. Those are floor tiles. The difference in the size of the Bolivia Bug and this caterpillar is huge.

Okay, so these don't seem to be from Bolivia. What if there is a species that is just like the Bolivia Bug? Well, so far I have not been able to find it. I found a seemingly serious link for a site about Bolivia and here is what they said:

http://photo.goliathus.com/bolivia/bolivia.php wrote:Bolivia bug
Bolivia bug is a hot topic now a days. After some videos, people started to search for Bolivia bug. In YouTube you could see video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeNggIGSKH8&NRwatch here), where is very interesting caterpillar. In fact, it's not a bug but caterpillar of any moth species. To make it more mystery, someone made a mix of 2 videos (watch here[this video has been removed--Cynth]). One video is original video of bolivia bug (the caterpillar) and other is a surgery, where doctor take off larva of wasp from head. The kind of wasp is called "tarantula hawk - pepsis" and they sting people rarely.
The real identification of this caterpillar is family Megalopygidae, genus Megalopyge, species (maybe) Megalopyge opercularis

I have found absolutely no reference to the Bolivia Bug caterpillar which does not lead back to the video. I have found no picture that looks like the one in the video. I may be wrong and I think I am in the minority judging by what I have read, but I think it is a prank. I searched Snopes and there is nothing there. It will be interesting to see if more evidence presents itself one way or the other.

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:03 am

What fantastic catterpillars! I've never come accross them before. They're beautiful (apart from the fact that they can sting!)....can't call them wooly slugs 'though...slugs are just yyyyeeeauchhh!! (especially the orange and grey ones...OOooooo..my skin has gone all creepy, just thinking of them!)

Cass.

mukade · Post by **mukade** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:15 am

I had a few of those mega-centis in my house when I lived out in the Japanese countryside.

The are called Gejigeji in Japan

Although they look like they would eat your granny, they are harmless.
They eat roaches and other nasties, so they are actually quite nice chaps.

And of course, Mukade means centipede in Japanese so I'm probably related.

Mukade

Steamwalker · Post by **Steamwalker** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:13 am

Cynth wrote:I think the Bolivian Bug is a wonderful joke. The Bolivian Bug is crawling on the sidewalk---you can see the divisions in the cement. The black thing must be a post of some kind. I think the Bolivian Bug is at the very least one foot long. You can hear the traffic in the background too.

I don't think that's a sidewalk but rather out on the patio as the description states (sidewalks are usually rougher and don't use grout in between the tiles). I think what's being mistaken for a much larger post or table leg is simply a chair leg due to it's angle (it's not straight up-and-down). I don't think it's nearly as big as it looks in the video, it's just zoomed up.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:31 am

With all this bug squeemishness going on, I couldn't help but think of the "Get them off me!" man from Hellraiser II (Warning: possibly disturbing content):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HH6sOmg875g

djm

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:41 am

I can't begin to tell you how much I am enjoying this thread! I was in Entomology 15 yrs ago and really miss it. We had some real puzzles to solve there and saw so many strange and interesting critters.

Tracking down that suspicious looking video--
you can get to it from Wiki if you go to the page for the particular species--

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopyge_opercularis
The video is listed at the very end of the page

External links

* Research on the Asp Caterpillar at Baylor College of Medicine
* Info page with photos
* BugGuide account
* Video of this bug

If it's in Wikipedia it must be correct, right?

Where is Rod Sprague when we need him?

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:46 am

Mukade wrote:And of course, Mukade means centipede in Japanese so I'm probably related.

Too cool!
Are there stories / legends associated with your namesake?

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:01 am

Cynth, I find those nasty looking centipede thingys in my house ALL of the time. I don't care if they're harmless and eat other icky things in my house, I don't like them. I would have done exactly what you did....oh wait, maybe I wouldn't have. I would have woken Mr Izz up and made him do it

Or one of the older boys...afterall, that's what boys are for.

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:27 am

Izzy!!

I think you deserve a medal of bravery for showing up on this thread

Here is a very pretty bug for you. It's an orchid mantis.

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 9:05 pm

Cofaidh wrote:The only bugs I'm actually afraid of are wasps, due primarily to a traumatic experience with yellowjackets when I was three.

I stepped on one yellowjacket as an adult and I will never forget it. It really hurt and my toe became extremely swollen. Those stings are extremely nasty. I'm certainly very watchful when I'm around them. I hate to even think of a three year old having a bad experience with them---that would traumatize anyone.

Cass wrote:Glad I live in the UK...we only get big house spiders indoors in the Autumn (I quite like those!)
Your variety of "big game" would give me the screaming ab-dabs!
At the moment, it's soooo wet over here, we've got slugs (big, slimy orange ones), at least 4.5 inches long! YUK!!! I sliiiiiid on one on the garden path yesterday. Not nice.

Cass.

When I lived in Santa Cruz, CA we had what we called banana slugs which sound like yours except they were yellow. They were actually the mascot (maybe it was unofficial--not sure) of the UC campus there. I didn't mind them, and actually as students we were quite fond of them----they were not terribly common and they were so bright---but then I never had the misfortune to step on one----YUK!!! would be an understatement I think!

InsectCandy wrote: Gummy Slimy Banana Slugs

SOLD OUT
$0.00

The banana slug is a bright yellow to olive green-ish, slimy mollusk found in the northwest redwood forests and can grow up to 12". It the official school mascot for UC Santa Cruz.

Our incredibly realistic Gummy Banana Slug candy is 5-1/2" long and weighs in at an impressive 45 grams.

Includes funny banana slug "facts" on the back of the package. Delicious banana flavor!

Temporarily sold out.

djm wrote: I have seen banana slugs out in British Columbia at 5-6". That's some serious goosh when you step on one of those. I can well imagine Cass getting a few yards out of one.

Earwigs (along with lots of other garden nasties) can easily be trapped in a beer trap. You need a container with very steep sides, at least 10-12" tall. Bury it half way. Fill about a quarter full with beer (something cheap and tasteless that you wouldn't drink yourself, like American beer). This will attract all manner of slugs, earwigs, and other creepy crawlies, who enter the trap drawn by the scent of the beer, but can't get out and drown. Empty and reset as required.

djm

I've read that beer is not very effective with earwigs. They recommend putting vegetable oil and soy sauce in tuna cans and sinking them down so the tops of the cans are level with the soil. A woman on a gardening forum compared this with using beer and she caught 40 times more earwigs with the oil-soy sauce mixture! I tried it and the problem was that it rained and splashed the oil onto the plant leaves and those leaves died---leaves which the plant could hardly spare. I had the trap close to a plant because that's what the earwigs were destroying. One could probably find a solution to the problem. I did catch a bunch of earwigs though. The other thing is that a teaspoon of dish detergent in a quart of water will kill earwigs in about 30 seconds if they are directly sprayed with the mixture. I went out one night with my spray bottle and flashlight but it is hard to hold the flashlight, lift up leaves to find earwigs, get the spray bottle to work when it is tipped and to keep spraying for so long---my hand got too tired. I did kill some earwigs but they run really fast and the spray bottle always took a fews squeezes to really get going---it was really nervewracking. You'd need a couple of people or a headflashlight at the very least. I've thought of putting the soap in a hose sprayer and then flushing them out of cracks with soap solution during the day since they come out if I hose off the patio.

mukade wrote:I had a few of those mega-centis in my house when I lived out in the Japanese countryside.

The are called Gejigeji in Japan

Although they look like they would eat your granny, they are harmless.
They eat roaches and other nasties, so they are actually quite nice chaps.

And of course, Mukade means centipede in Japanese so I'm probably related.

Mukade

Well, I certainly think the word "Gejigeji" sounds much more pleasant than centipede. Now if you could only do something about how they look! That certainly is a lovely self-portrait!

.

djm wrote:With all this bug squeemishness going on, I couldn't help but think of the "Get them off me!" man from Hellraiser II (Warning: possibly disturbing content):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HH6sOmg875g

djm

I got a few seconds into this and was overtaken by the creeps. I never got to the scary part. Maybe I'll try again in the morning

.

izzarina wrote:Cynth, I find those nasty looking centipede thingys in my house ALL of the time. I don't care if they're harmless and eat other icky things in my house, I don't like them. I would have done exactly what you did....oh wait, maybe I wouldn't have. I would have woken Mr Izz up and made him do it Or one of the older boys...afterall, that's what boys are for.

Well, I did holler really loud hoping that my husband would provide some reinforcements, but once he's asleep he is hard to get excited and then with the fans going I think he couldn't hear me. If there had been a bat in the shower, I would have been jumping on him until he woke up and he would have had to deal with it or me in my bat-fear state. So far he has always chosen to deal with the bat

. I guess we are supposed to learn to love these centipedes. Since you encounter them a lot maybe that will give you more opportunities to practice. (Just trying to look on the bright side.

)

Caroluna wrote:Izzy!!
I think you deserve a medal of bravery for showing up on this thread

Here is a very pretty bug for you. It's an orchid mantis.

See, now I would rather be able to see what is bug and what is not bug right away. I can see that this bug is amazing and I wouldn't want to hurt it. But I would be seriously discombobulated if I were touching that orchid and that bug suddenly jumped off. If the bug were green or brown, then I would know to keep my distance. Well, we don't have orchids here so I guess I shouldn't borrow trouble, eh?

sbhikes · Post by **sbhikes** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:14 pm

Cynth wrote:Why are you picking on moths?

I hate the kind that get into your food and ruin your clothes. Pretty moths are ok.

Rod Sprague · Post by **Rod Sprague** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:15 pm

The two centipedes pictured are related, both being in the family Scutigeridae. Scutigeridae are noted for having rigid bodies letting them run faster and well developed eyes. They are noted for being the family of centipedes with the speed and eyesight to hunt swift arthropods such as flys. I will be checking out the caterpillar video soon and weigh in with my opinion.