XSworld

By XSworld

Cuteness to resist!

My first instinct when I see a furry caterpillar is to take it up and cuddle it, well, or let it prickle the palm of my hand. It just looks so infinately cute and soft and cuddly. Probably I have been conditioned by furry vertebrates and, I guess, toys! But I just know way too little about caterpillar species to trust that it is safe to take it in my hand (let alone cuddle it) as the fur, or more precisely, setae is often urticating and in some species the setae is hollow and filled with venomous cocktail that will do you no good. Some are even mortal, as the venom of the Lonomia obliqua caterpillar which kills 2-3 people every year in Brazil and has the incidence rate of envenomations is 3,2 per 100.000 inhabitants!
Two belgian scientists even go so far as to say that "Caterpillar envenomation is a global health threat in the 21st century" in a recent publication, which I think is enough information for me to resist to cuddle the little fellow on the photo.

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