Image of Io Moth

Description:

"While photographing a Wooley croton (Croton capitatus) I grabbed a stem to position it and immediately felt a PAINFUL sting on my fingers. Puzzled, I looked for a paper wasp or honeybee and finally focused on this well camouflaged critter on the croton stem. Now the BEAUTY of iNat! @sambiology, @cullen, @kueda @loarie I sat down tonight to enter this painful observation... when my dashboard opened, there on the screen was an observation of an identical bristly green caterpillar by @ericisley. http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4423970 That saved me a lot of ""page flipping"" and ""googling"". See: http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82279-Automeris-io ""As the larvae develop, they will lose their orange color and will turn bright green and urticating, having many spines. These stinging spines have a very painful venom that is released with the slightest touch; a condition known as erucism. The green caterpillars have two lateral stripes, the upper one being bright red and the lower one being white."" Yup... I believe that is it!!!"