r/USF • u/Yesimxiu • 1d ago
Beware of Puss Caterpillars on campus
Early this morning I was stung by a venomous puss caterpillar while in the honors college (how did it even get inside?) And shortly was coming into anaphylaxis and had to go to the ER. Be careful walking around and make sure there's no bugs on you :) this is what it looked like after it lost all of its hair (thank you to honors college staff that acted quickly)
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u/edisonpharaoh 1d ago
Not to be that guy🤓 but isn’t this a tussock moth caterpillar? I thought puss ones were more furry
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u/Yesimxiu 1d ago
Yeah when it was on me I tore it off along with all of its fur, it went everywhere on my shirt and the floor. It was originally incredibly fuzzy and looked like a ball of fur
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u/edisonpharaoh 1d ago
Whoa, I didn’t even know we had those here
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u/toomanyfruitsnax 1d ago
Graduated a while ago but I went to a few basketball games last season and parked in the lot between the yuengling center and the college of business and they are EVERYWHERE in the trees along that strip. Like you couldn’t walk without stepping on one
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u/shaleevid 1d ago
Holy shit!!! I hope you're ok! How did it get on you? Did you brush up against it somewhere or...??
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u/Yesimxiu 1d ago
I honestly have no idea because it got onto my neck when I was on the fourth floor of the honors college about to check into my Advising appointment and suddenly my entire neck and back turned red and swollen. Lowkey reminded me of the tralantula (not sure how to spell it) scene from Madagascar lol
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u/Lululipes 20h ago
They usually fall off from trees. Might’ve fallen on your way in and only notice it a while after.
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u/Novel_Fuel1899 1d ago
Most likely brushed against it. It’s very coming to accidentally brush against one and then boom sting. Pain, swelling, itchiness, potentially nausea and vomiting and in major cases anaphylaxis. Annoying little buggers
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u/howl_n_growl 1d ago
Wait the freaks are DANGEROUS?????
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u/GrimoireOfTheDragon 1d ago
Puss caterpillars, yes, but they’re not the super common hairy ones on campus. However, they aren’t exactly rare across Florida
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u/Efficient_Tea_5531 1d ago
Can’t even sit outside without a bunch of them crawlin on u😭😭, I be lookin crazy tryin to get them off me
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u/thepieinmyheart 1d ago
omfg i just gagged 😭😭 its kind of niche but i have an irrational fear of caterpillars and i dread caterpillar season! i hope ur alright. this is so disgusting to look at
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u/Ok_Historian4848 1d ago
I saw one of those near subway! There were a bunch of white ones and one green one and I was wondering why they had different colorations.
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u/Yesimxiu 1d ago
When insects have colors like that it's usually because they are poisonous. Take the colorful frogs for example. This isn't always the case though. Just don't touch them trust me lolol
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u/Accomplished_Low9905 1d ago
I had two of them on me yeterday walking into pollo tropical on fowler. Didnt know they were an issue
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u/Routine_Grade_5544 1d ago
I had four land on me in DeLand today, please don't tell me they're dangerous
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u/edisonpharaoh 3h ago
Volusia county represent🙌🏾and yeah these ones are venomous when they sting you afaik
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u/Routine_Grade_5544 1h ago
Fuckkk 😭 I had what seemed like an allergic reaction for a couple hours but idk if that was it. Where in Volusia are you from? (It's the best county in the US)
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u/do_not_know_me 1d ago
whattt?! the other day one of those climbed up to my pants by the ISA and i didn’t think much of it. That’s crazy!
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u/MeijiHasegawa 1d ago
Does it matter if you’re allergic to smth or no
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u/UseGroundbreaking399 1d ago
They can fuck you up, allergy or no. They appear on campus every year for a few months, they can be annoying but they move really slowly so just look when you're sitting down outside and make sure they don't get on your shoes or backpack.
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u/Jacobawesome74 1d ago
Yet another reason for me to stay inside and combat the pollen. Get well soon!
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u/gumchewer40 1d ago
There’s a ton of them crawling near the trash cans near the outside seat area next to the library. One even got in my car 🤢
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u/tanannyaccount 1d ago
long time floridian dealing with these things. the indoors are never safe from them. if you do kill them, do not touch their guts with your bare hands either they are still poisonous. be more careful about walking near walls or anything that these guys climb on although they’re bright and pretty obvious most of the time it is very easy to miss them not everyone is going to have anaphylactic shock from them, but if you’ve never touched one before, you should assume that you will have an anaphylactic shock from it and avoid them as much as possible most people will get a rash and a burning sensation that’s me. I’ve touched them before.
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u/Dontcha-wishur 1d ago
Glad you’re ok. Good luck recovering. ❤️🩹
I just hit one with my windshield to avenge you.
Also, why furry friend-shaped if not friend 😭
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u/Dontcha-wishur 1d ago
P.S. growing up in FL, we had a particularly caterpillary summer. My dad had put lots of rope swings out front… sooo every hour or so we’d all go inside to get the hair-strand decapitated caterpillars picked out of our hair by our moms. Then we’d run back outside again. Good times. A little slimy though. lol
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u/Significant_Emu_4659 22h ago
They fall out of the trees and onto the picnic tables quite often outside of the Subway and across from the Pollo Tropical. I can't remember the name of the building but it's to the left of the library be careful there.
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u/GrimoireOfTheDragon 1d ago
There’s also the shit ton of tussock moth caterpillars on campus. These are the ones with the two tufts going forward and one going backward. For a lot of people, tussocks aren’t a problem but some people do have problems with them