A cute caterpillar can cause painful skin eruptions when handled.

Santa-Piller, originally uploaded by Larissa Meek on Flickr.

There are a TON of weird “creepy-crawlers” down here in south Florida. I swear there are creatures around every corner. Lizards scatter on the sidewalk, making 3 foot leaps of death, with every step I take and I’ve accidentally squashed more lizards than I can count. The knee jerk reaction is *crunch*, ewww… oops, “Poor little guy”.

Seriously I see weird, slimy, creepy-crawlies EVERYWHERE. I’ve even witnessed crabs quickly sauntering sideways to hide underneath cars like a sneaky cat afraid of being seen. And I thought I had seen it all… until yesterday.

I was cleaning my blinds when I glanced out the window and fixated upon an amazing green color inching along my front porch. It was the most stunning fuzzy green caterpillar I had ever seen! I immediately grabbed my Nikon and snapped away. As a result, I got a inspired by the holiday spirit when I saw all the fuzzy green”ness” he had. Throw on a Santa hat and a wicket nose and VIOLA – it’s a Santa-Piller!

After a bit of research I discovered this little guy can cause painful skin eruptions (dermatitis) when handled. Resource: Io Moth. I’m SO glad I didn’t try to pick him up. Yucky! Thee green fuzzies become Io Moth’s – Automeris io and have some pretty wicked looking wings when they grow up.

Photo credit for above: ForestryImages.org