American Dagger Moth Caterpillar (Acronicta americana). There is a long list of host plants of the American Dagger Moth, Box Elder, Maple, and Oak are three of many.
One of those caterpillars that can cause a skin irritation. No venom involved but it can cause that skin irritation. Unless you like a painful or itchy rash don’t pick this critter up.
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2 responses to “American Dagger Moth Caterpillar”
Yesterday, I was cleaning out my garden. After a while, I took a break and put my gloves on the sill outside. When I returned and got my gloves to put on, I felt something like cloth in my glove. I discovered it was a greater oak dagger moth caterpillar. While grateful that it did not sting (not sure if they do or not) I will be much more careful when pulling on my gloves. I have been strung by a saddleback caterpillar before and that was such excruciating pain! 😣
Oh Diane! What an experience – particularly getting stung by a saddleback caterpillar. Not an experience I want to have! I try to be cautious around anything that I don’t know about, whether it is safe or not. This makes me think of my dear sister, who loves and trusts anything in the world of nature. She will pick up anything without a care and totally gets away with it! This reminds me of Girl Scout camp – waking up in the morning to put on my shoes and finding a very large millipede in the shoe. Not that I was particularly concerned about my foot, but I certainly didn’t want to squash it! Oh, the memories!
Thank you for the reminder to check my gloves before I put them on, after putting them down outside!! And too, thank you for reading my posts! I enjoy hearing from you!
Bren