Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Caterpillars II

This is the most common of all the caterpillars we see at the Bosque. Sometimes there are hundreds and maybe thousands of them crawling up trees, up the walls of the reception center and generally found throughout the forest. I read that the word "caterpillar" means "hairy cat" in French. This larva certainly fits the description! And be careful of those hairs because they're very poisonous. Avoid touching the caterpillar at all costs and make it a point not to come in contact with places where they have tread. A loose hair on an object can be just as dangerous as those on the varmint. Last year, I unintentionally touched something that gave me a nasty skin reaction on my left wrist. I had little time before returning to the city, so I continued to work thinking that I could ride it out. Within a hour the pain was so great I ended up in the outpatient department at one of the local hospitals where the doctors gave me two injections to get through the episode. By this time the pain seemed to have made its way right down to the bone!

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