Flannel moth
The flannel moths or crinkled flannel moths (scientific name Megalopygidae) are a family of insects. They occur in North America (11 species) and the New World tropics. The larvae are called puss caterpillars, and with their long hairs, resemble cotton balls. They have venomous spines that can cause a painful sting and inflammation lasting for several days. In some cases, the sting may cause headache, nausea, and shock-like symptoms. Perhaps the most notorious for stinging is the caterpillar of Megalopyge opercularis.
A Megalopyge opercularis caterpillar on Kent Island, Maryland: a highly toxic species
| Flannel moth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Megalopyge opercularis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Megalopygidae Herrich-Schäffer, 1855 |
| Genera | |
|
See text | |
Genera
gollark: You can't really do theory unless you have empirical stuff to look at, since you're mostly just reduced to "well my assumptions are better"/"but I prefer this".
gollark: Sadly, no governments are particularly enthused about the idea.
gollark: Ideally we would be able to run randomised controlled trials on different subregions of the planet.
gollark: I used to just vaguely assume that communism good but impractical, but that's obviously stupid, and then I was somewhat libertarian, but I'm not even sure if that produces good results at all because these things are totally untestable.
gollark: Well, I don't know what economic policy is good any more æææ.
References
- Natural History Museum genus database
- "Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota". cedarcreek.umn.edu.
- BugGuide
- USGS--Caterpillars of Eastern Forests
- Auburn University
- Moths of Borneo—lists the family as neotropical
- Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension
- Ohio State University
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.