Venomous Puss Caterpillars With 'Worst' Sting Found in Florida

Puss caterpillars, which have a painful, venomous sting, have been sighted in Central Florida.

Resident Joel Mathis told Orlando TV station WOFL that he saw some of the fuzzy caterpillars in the city of Clermont over the weekend. Puss caterpillars, the larvae of the puss moth, or southern flannel moth, are thought to be one of the most venomous caterpillars in the U.S.

"Puss caterpillars are generally pretty common in Florida, although I haven't seen any this year myself," Lyle Buss, an entomologist from the University of Florida's Insect Identification Lab, told Newsweek. "I believe this species is considered to be the worst stinging caterpillar in Florida."

Puss caterpillars, like other caterpillar species, are the larval stage of a moth, going through several stages of molting and growth before metamorphosing into their adult form. The puss caterpillars grow more "hairs" each time they molt, according to a blog post by the University of Florida's Entomology and Nematology Department.

While the caterpillar may have derived its name from its fuzzy appearance (it resembles a fluffy cat), these hairs aren't quite as soft and cuddly and are stingers.

These hairs are hollow, with a venom gland at their base. Just as the caterpillar gets more fluffy with each molt, each hair becomes more and more toxic as the caterpillar grows.

"Most people will experience some intense burning pain at the stinging site, but a small percentage of people may have a more serious allergic response," Buss said.

"It felt like the pain was jumping from one area," a Florida woman, who got stung in 2019, told WOFL. "I just don't wish it on nobody. It was the worst."

The effect and pain of the sting vary among individuals. They also vary depending on the thickness of the area of skin where the sting occurred.

"The burning sensation went away in a day or so, but that blister and then subsequent kind of irritated area was visible for several weeks," the manager of Virginia Tech's Insect ID Lab, Eric Day, who was also stung, told NPR.

"It's not an instantaneous shock of a hornet or wasp, but it builds for a long time in a frightening way," David Wagner, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut, told USA Today. "No one expects stings to gain in impact or discomfort, and these will, even up to an hour later. It packs quite a wallop."

Despite their painful stings, puss caterpillars are very rarely deadly, and death occurs only when the victim has a severe allergic reaction to the sting.

"I think it is important not to overplay insect stories such as happened with "murder hornet,'" Judith Myers, a zoology professor at the University of British Columbia, told Newsweek.

"I think sensationalism should be avoided. The [murder hornets] are exceedingly rare but have received nationwide coverage," she said.

If you are stung by a puss caterpillar, it may help to relieve the pain by using tape to remove the broken spine tips from the skin, applying an ice pack and using oral or topical antihistamines.