‘Trump’ caterpillar has quite a sting

If you see some thing crawling around the yard that resembles a small scale version of Donald Trump’s infamous combover, beware.
“It blended in pretty well with the tree leaves,” said Sue Andrepont, whose 11-year-old son Nathan was recently stung by the puss caterpillar. “We haven’t see any more since.”
The caterpillar, whose long grayish-white to golden-brown to dark charcoal gray hairs make it resemble a tiny Persian cat, defends itself with venomous spines that cause skin irritation upon contact. Other reactions to being stung by the caterpillar can include swelling, nausea, headache, abdominal distress, rashes, blisters, and sometimes chest pain, numbness, or trouble breathing. Among the caterpillar’s nick names listed on Wikipedia is the Trump caterpillar in reference to politician Donald Trump’s infamous strawberry blond-gray combover. National Geographic dubbed it the toxic toupee, also in reference to the fact that it resembles a hair piece.
On Sunday, the Andreponts, including Sue’s husband and Nathan’s father Chuck, were trimming a pecan tree behind their Eunice home, and Nathan was helping move the trimmed branches.
“All of a sudden, Nathan started screaming and threw the branches down,” Sue said.
“It felt like a wasp stung me,” Nathan said. “I want ‘Ah’ and ran inside to my mom to get something to put on it.”
The mother first put baking soda and ran cold water on the sting, and the pair went back into the yard to try to locate whatever had stung the boy.
“I was mad,” Nathan said. “I went back outside to see if I could find what stung me. It blended in pretty well, but I spotted it.”
The family then secured the caterpillar in a jar, and Sue sent a photograph of the caterpillar to a neighbor. The neighbor immediately responded with information on the bug and treatments, including using cellophane tape to remove the barbs from Nathan’s skin.
“I could feel the burning feeling moving up my arm,” Nathan said. “The pain would come and go in waves.”
It was then Sue decided a trip to the emergency room at Acadian Medical Center would be best.
“Nathan was worried they were going to have to amputate his arm,” Sue said. “The emergency room doctor, Jevin Bordelon, said he had never treated a sting from that kind of caterpillar before.”
Nathan was treated for the sting and went home that same day, and Sue wants her son to take the now-dead caterpillar for show and tell in his sixth grade class at St. Ed so that others will know to beware of the bug.
Gregg Henderson, a professor of urban entomology at LSU, said he is not surprised that neither the Andrepont’s nor the emergency room doctor had never encountered the sting of the puss caterpillar.
“The puss caterpillar is not abundant, and it’s not easy to find,” he said. “Not many people come in contact with them. They usually stay hidden and people usually don’t interact with them.”
According to Henderson, the caterpillar is a solitary creature that feeds mainly on the leaves of oaks, elms and citrus trees. The puss caterpillar can be found in the eastern U.S., from North Carolina to Florida and in most southern states.
“The puss and saddleback caterpillar are two of the most dangerous caterpillars in United States,” Henderson said. “When someone does get stung by the puss caterpillar, if they rubbed up against the caterpillar, they could have as many as 50 of the needle-like hollow hairs stuck in their skin.”
Henderson recommended being visually aware and look before picking things up outside and using a bacillus thuringiensis biological pesticide to help prevent run-ins with the caterpillar.
Contact Claudette Olivier at claudette.olivier@eunicetoday.com