Watch your step!

Yes I am back from the dead... well from illness, and back breaking work. So whats brought me back to blog life from my long hiatus? a bizarre and unfortunate death.
A recently released report describes a young Canadian woman died after stepping onto a few caterpillars. Thats right, not spiders or scorpions, but just caterpillars. Two simple and obvious, yet often neglected things could have spared her the unfortunate fate:

• Do not walk barefoot out in the open! Specially when exploring nature, you've got to wear proper footwear.
  
• Seek medical attention ASAP when you know something is not right, *even* if you think you are feeling better.

To reduce the affects of encounter with any venomous/hairy caterpillars the immediate treatment is nearly the same for all types and does help reduce the affect of their venom:

"Place Scotch tape (or any adhesive tape) over the affected area and strip off repeatedly to remove spines. Apply ice packs to reduce the stinging sensation, and follow with a paste of baking soda and water. If the victim has a history of hay fever, asthma or allergy, or if allergic reactions develop, contact a physician immediately." - Poison Information Center, Tampa

Sometimes it may help to remember the warning colors: any combinations of black, yellow, red and brown. These colors often indicate that a certain bug is venomous and best to keep your distance. A bug with red and yellow or combo of it, is not trying to say "I am pretty, come pick me up". Most likely it wont kill you, but can really hurt like hell. And not all venomous bugs will have these warning colors though. Trust me, i've been there many times hehe mostly painful stings from wasps and hornets of all size and shapes. The most painful and lasting one of all came from the tiniest one of them. Was also lucky enough to avoid scorpion and centipede stings many times as a kid.

The caterpillars this unfortunate woman encountered is most likely Lonomia (found in South America). Their venom is the most potent of all known land animals! Of this group of caterpillars, the most venomous is Lonomia Obliqua. Check this, the fatality rate from Lonomia is 1.7% compared to that of rattle snakes which is 1.8%

Lonomia Obliqua

This is despite the fact that the amount of venom dispatched by their "bristles" is less than one thousandth of what you could get from a snake bite. Hmmm sounds like a good candidate for the next CSI episode.

Could someone get me a crate of these critters for my petting zoo?

Bilal
http://www.elanist.com/bilal