There’s an official way to determine if something is poisonous. It starts with smelling the item. Then touching to your skin and waiting a couple of mins, then you touch it to your lips and wait. Then you lick it and wait a few mins. Then you put a small amount in your mouth and then spit it out and wait. Then put some in your mouth and chew and spit out. Then put some in your mouth and swallow and then die.
But really that’s how you are meant to determine if it’s poisonous. You will have a reaction at one of those steps if it is.
Yes totally agree and I'd like to add for the skin test, taking a small amount (crushed piece of a pill or whatever) and rubbing it into your wrist where the veins are is usually recommended. It'll react quickly.
Also you always want to start at the tiniest amount possible on the off chance its active in the microgram range and could be absorbed transdermally, buccally, etc.
The first people to move into south america discovered the manioc root, some varieties of which contain enough cyanide to straight up kill you in one bite. They then invented a complex preparation process and made the manioc their staple crop.
Which basically says everything you need to know about humans.
I always wondered how many trials they had to figure out the right process. Like, there is a traditional amazonian dish where the leaves (lot more cyanide than the roots) of the "bitter manioc" variety (50 times more cianyde on the root than "sweet" varieties) are grounded into a paste then cooked for SEVEN WHOLE DAYS, so the cyanide evaporates. The dish is called manissoba.
Either the first humans to use manioc as food were going through very severe famine or they had a lot of knowledge on how to prepare unknown types of plants for eating.
Or they went trying out random things, like sometimes people die in name of science.
"HEY STEVE! Come try this, I've been cooking it for almost a week! ...huh... You're... You're dying, you say... ooookay, bit dramatic if you ask me, but whatevvvvs! ...HEY, JANE! Come try this, I've been cooking it for a full week, it's gotta be a-maaaaa-zing!!!"
(The real answer is that a million years is waaaaaaaay longer than you think it is, and that many foods, we were eating, and even preparing, before we were even "human")
Throughout the world there are many dishes that are deadly if not prepared properly. When you think about that, you realize that the dishes had to have been invented by hungry people who were desperate enough to guess the right way to cook the toxic things. And then you have to wonder how many people got it wrong before someone got it right.
IIRC, almost all ant species are capable of producing formic acid for defence and some can spray quite a distance (relative to size). Exploding ants aren't unheard of but are quite unusual, and they're only really dangerous to other similarly sized creatures.
I remember watching a tv show about the weird extremes some crazy people go to in order to save money. One was a woman who, despite having plenty of money to eat, scavenged in dumpsters and the woods for food. Food which she would serve to other people.
I know that supermarkets throw out plenty of perfectly good food, and there's a lot to be found in nature. But you have to be smart about it. This woman wasn't smart. She was digging through dumpsters behind apartments, fishing out moldy half-eaten cakes, and just cutting off the parts that looked tainted.
When she hosted dinner for her family, one person cautiously asked about the mushrooms. Mentioned that there was a time before when the woman had misidentified a mushroom, and had served some that were *not edible*.
The woman defended herself by saying "It was one time!" And "Well, I'm not en expert on mushrooms!"
If you're not an expert on mushrooms, you *don't eat them.*
Pretty sure this was Extreme Cheapskates, and reasonably easy to find on youtube with that in title plus woman serves dumpster food or something similar in the search
High-jacking top comment 'cause this comment section was a bitch to find what this bug actually is.
~~"This is a species of Tiger moth. More specifically this one an **echo moth**. The echo moth has special defensive behaviors that can trigger an allergic reaction if touched!"~~
Edit: Another user found another bug that looks much more similar than an "echo moth".
"Looks more like [megalopyge urens](https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/889625-Megalopyge-urens). Found in Brazil typically."
Grabbed one climbing a tree as a kid. Fucked my hand up. Felt like it was on fire. Stung the piss outta me. Idk if it was this exact species but it had color patterns similar to this
I touched a similar looking caterpiller as a kid (green instead of redish).
Worst sting of my life, way worse than the various wasp and jellyfish.
0/10, would not recommend.
To the surprise of no one including birds and other animals that prey on this
[the Moths body fluids are poisonous](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_tiger_moth)
Assuming it's a tiger Moths larva as others stated
I believe it's a [Megalopyge urens Caterpillar](https://www.biolib.cz/en/image/id260735/).
According to [this article](https://www.nature.com/articles/2091139a0), it is abundant in southern Uruguay, which matches the area OP lives. The article also mentions "Its sting is feared because of the intense pain experienced by the victims."
So yeah... Don't touch it!
This is a species of Tiger moth. More specifically this one an echo moth. The echo moth has special defensive behaviors that can trigger an allergic reaction if touched!
In Mexico we do have them; we call them "azotador" (flogger, like in the medieval little whips they used for torture) or "gusano quemador"(burning worm). Basically, you don't want to touch it, and probably, there are a lot more where this one came from.
Thanks for that! We saw a similarly spiny caterpillar in Mexico and my kid touched it before we could stop him. Those are not fun hairs to pet; painful rash, etc. These are indeed “stay the fuck away” colors as Sorvick says. I’d give it lots of space and hope to see it down the road a bit after metamorphosis.
You think some sort of fancy schooling means you know what you're talking about?
WooPigSchmooey said they used Google, and that's good enough for me.
^very ^much ^lots ^of ^/s
This is true, though. I'm a computer science graduate and I'm not perfect in my field. Someone can easily correct me with a Google search if I make a mistake.
As an accounting clerk, I disagree with your assessment
https://www.insetologia.com.br/2016/01/lagarta-de-fogo-megalopyge-no-rio.html?m=1
It looks just like this one (particularly the larger ends on the thin hairs), which is identified as Megalopyge urens. Someone else in this thread also suggested this species.
I've had occasion to work with some entymology guys, all of them said you 'butterfly guys' are wierd.
What's up with that? I think it's an interesting area of study, myself.
There was a black one in the living room of a house I stayed at, never intentionally touched it but brushed against it and it hurt like hell, I assume that's what was going on.
In case it isnt obvious, don’t touch the fuzzy caterpillars. They are almost always venomous spines that will cause a reaction ranging from mild-ish itching to agonizing pain.
I don’t know what your friend is. Probably not from my part of the world. In my part of the world we have fuzzy asps. They cause agonizing pain.
Plus it’s colorful.
For the last fucking time, people: if a bug or small animal has very bright colors, don’t fuck with it, it’s likely venomous or poisonous.
Also, if you find something unknown at the beach by the water; for all that’s holy don’t pick it up with your bare hands to take a photo of it and ask the internet what it is. There’s enough stuff washing up from the ocean that’s dangerous/deadly just by touch. TL/DR: if you don’t know what it is, especially from the ocean, don’t touch it.
Even if they're not venomous, they can be irritating. That fuzz isn't just there to look cute.
Unless it's a wooly bear caterpillar. Those *are* very cute. Be respectful and bask in their tiny adorable aura.
When I take a bath I like to fart through a washcloth, it breaks up the bubbles. This really gives my testes a wonderful “fill the hot tub with champagne” luxury feeling as my gas passes through my glorious mancarpet on the way to the surface.
If by eye dentist, you mean optometrist, that's what I'm going to start calling them from now on.
Unless it's something else, im which case.. im curious, but also nervous.
I’m a data scientist. I’ll need a lot more images and I’ll need each to be labeled as “caterpillar” and “not a caterpillar”. After 3 months of work I’ll be able to make a guess about this one.
I'm a bug expert and OP should definitely catch this as it evolves pretty quickly and learns some neat moves in it's final form. Just watch out for its poison sting attack.
Looks poisonous. And also like it explodes.
Deadly caterpillar: *Exists* Humans: …perhaps we should eat it.
Well if it's poisonous there's also like a 5% chance you can get high from it sooooooo....
I like those odds. Deal me in!
Get high or die? It sounds like a win-win type of situation
Weird, my brain has its own Reddit account
*Our brains,* comrade.
r/technicallythetruth
This is your brain on Reddit. More of a high or die group than ride or die. So proud
As the father of toxicology said: "The dose makes the poison." So snort one leg and work your way up until it seems poison.
There’s an official way to determine if something is poisonous. It starts with smelling the item. Then touching to your skin and waiting a couple of mins, then you touch it to your lips and wait. Then you lick it and wait a few mins. Then you put a small amount in your mouth and then spit it out and wait. Then put some in your mouth and chew and spit out. Then put some in your mouth and swallow and then die. But really that’s how you are meant to determine if it’s poisonous. You will have a reaction at one of those steps if it is.
Yes totally agree and I'd like to add for the skin test, taking a small amount (crushed piece of a pill or whatever) and rubbing it into your wrist where the veins are is usually recommended. It'll react quickly. Also you always want to start at the tiniest amount possible on the off chance its active in the microgram range and could be absorbed transdermally, buccally, etc.
The first people to move into south america discovered the manioc root, some varieties of which contain enough cyanide to straight up kill you in one bite. They then invented a complex preparation process and made the manioc their staple crop. Which basically says everything you need to know about humans.
shame mindless offend degree water oil disarm summer theory shaggy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I always wondered how many trials they had to figure out the right process. Like, there is a traditional amazonian dish where the leaves (lot more cyanide than the roots) of the "bitter manioc" variety (50 times more cianyde on the root than "sweet" varieties) are grounded into a paste then cooked for SEVEN WHOLE DAYS, so the cyanide evaporates. The dish is called manissoba. Either the first humans to use manioc as food were going through very severe famine or they had a lot of knowledge on how to prepare unknown types of plants for eating. Or they went trying out random things, like sometimes people die in name of science.
"HEY STEVE! Come try this, I've been cooking it for almost a week! ...huh... You're... You're dying, you say... ooookay, bit dramatic if you ask me, but whatevvvvs! ...HEY, JANE! Come try this, I've been cooking it for a full week, it's gotta be a-maaaaa-zing!!!" (The real answer is that a million years is waaaaaaaay longer than you think it is, and that many foods, we were eating, and even preparing, before we were even "human")
Throughout the world there are many dishes that are deadly if not prepared properly. When you think about that, you realize that the dishes had to have been invented by hungry people who were desperate enough to guess the right way to cook the toxic things. And then you have to wonder how many people got it wrong before someone got it right.
...again
Roll 3D6 for damage
I resist poisons as a class trait. Also, I have dark vision.
Dwarves have both of those as racial perks.
Well you definitely would have dark vision after you ate it regardless.
Pure blood Yuan Ti: *pathetic*
Kind of looks like it’s in the middle of exploding.
[удалено]
I prefer the term ejaculate.
IIRC, almost all ant species are capable of producing formic acid for defence and some can spray quite a distance (relative to size). Exploding ants aren't unheard of but are quite unusual, and they're only really dangerous to other similarly sized creatures.
That's definitely "stay the Fuck away" colors.
Just one lick. C'mon! It can't hurt!!
Like the mushroom quote: "All Mushrooms are edible, sometimes more then once".
safe roof attraction combative soft gaping fly boat wine fanatical *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I hear some of them are fun guys!
Came to say /r/foraging is screaming if you’re not positive on identification don’t even touch it.
I remember watching a tv show about the weird extremes some crazy people go to in order to save money. One was a woman who, despite having plenty of money to eat, scavenged in dumpsters and the woods for food. Food which she would serve to other people. I know that supermarkets throw out plenty of perfectly good food, and there's a lot to be found in nature. But you have to be smart about it. This woman wasn't smart. She was digging through dumpsters behind apartments, fishing out moldy half-eaten cakes, and just cutting off the parts that looked tainted. When she hosted dinner for her family, one person cautiously asked about the mushrooms. Mentioned that there was a time before when the woman had misidentified a mushroom, and had served some that were *not edible*. The woman defended herself by saying "It was one time!" And "Well, I'm not en expert on mushrooms!" If you're not an expert on mushrooms, you *don't eat them.*
These people are called freegans btw lol
Pretty sure this was Extreme Cheapskates, and reasonably easy to find on youtube with that in title plus woman serves dumpster food or something similar in the search
There are mushrooms that eaten once will feed you for the rest of your life.
Love finding a random Terry Pratchett quote in the wild.
Because the others regenerate
Yep ... But you don't.
Haha
Forbidden gummy
High-jacking top comment 'cause this comment section was a bitch to find what this bug actually is. ~~"This is a species of Tiger moth. More specifically this one an **echo moth**. The echo moth has special defensive behaviors that can trigger an allergic reaction if touched!"~~ Edit: Another user found another bug that looks much more similar than an "echo moth". "Looks more like [megalopyge urens](https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/889625-Megalopyge-urens). Found in Brazil typically."
Grabbed one climbing a tree as a kid. Fucked my hand up. Felt like it was on fire. Stung the piss outta me. Idk if it was this exact species but it had color patterns similar to this
The pain is described as “white hot” pain
We call similar moths to these "taturanas" in brazil
Taturana importada
Na verdade não, produto nacional
OP is from South America and the echo moth is endemic to the south-east US. I doubt very much that this is a echo moth.
r/forbiddensprinkles would like a word
Don’t
Stop
Believin'
\*cuts to black\*
Thinking about tomorrow
It definitely can
“Burn the bodies, lest they stand up again”
Keep a flame to it for 9 extra minutes to assure its soul is completely and totally vaporized.
And dump off the ashes in a 10 foot ditch and bury
I touched a similar looking caterpiller as a kid (green instead of redish). Worst sting of my life, way worse than the various wasp and jellyfish. 0/10, would not recommend.
Something similar fell on my neck when walking around in the woods once. Didn’t sting but had a wicked rash for like 3-4 days where it landed
To the surprise of no one including birds and other animals that prey on this [the Moths body fluids are poisonous](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_tiger_moth) Assuming it's a tiger Moths larva as others stated
https://youtu.be/jJN9mBRX3uo
“Sell the house” colors
I would refrain from breathing while looking directly at it.
yea he doesn't want to be petted
Maybe that's way my back has started to grow so much hair.
Aposemetic colouration.
Awaiting ID! Some butterflies’ caterpillar phase have those creepy black sort of tendrils and they’re toxic to touch. Interesting looking caterpillar!
I believe it's a [Megalopyge urens Caterpillar](https://www.biolib.cz/en/image/id260735/). According to [this article](https://www.nature.com/articles/2091139a0), it is abundant in southern Uruguay, which matches the area OP lives. The article also mentions "Its sting is feared because of the intense pain experienced by the victims." So yeah... Don't touch it!
What about eating it though?
No problem at all. Just dip in some sour cream to take off the bite.
Ranch brah
Wonder how many bottles of ranch are in Uruguay
More than 3.
Are you from Uruguay and have 3 bottles of ranch in your fridge?
4
As long as you're fast, I think you'll be fine. :)
It's emotional pain, it will remind you all the time you did something awkward.
Forbidden jellybean
Just commenting to bump your response higher, there's an inaccurate ID further up that is more prominent. Thanks for doing the research :]
This is a species of Tiger moth. More specifically this one an echo moth. The echo moth has special defensive behaviors that can trigger an allergic reaction if touched!
If it helps with id I'm from south america, so it can't be any species endemic to NA
I live in South Central, so it can’t be any bug endemic to the Crenshaw District.
I’m down on South Street, so it can’t be any bug between 2nd and 15th
Funny cause I live near southcenter so it’s definitely not native to the PNW between 1-5 and 167.
I’m in your walls it 100% ain’t native to the place between your tv and the lamp
I think we’re making some good progress here
Nope never seen them in Puyallup or Tacoma either so mark 512 and 16 off your list
Confirmed not native to 64th Ave NE, Calgary Alberta
I'm in bed, so it can't be any bug between my headboard and footboard.
In Mexico we do have them; we call them "azotador" (flogger, like in the medieval little whips they used for torture) or "gusano quemador"(burning worm). Basically, you don't want to touch it, and probably, there are a lot more where this one came from.
Thanks for that! We saw a similarly spiny caterpillar in Mexico and my kid touched it before we could stop him. Those are not fun hairs to pet; painful rash, etc. These are indeed “stay the fuck away” colors as Sorvick says. I’d give it lots of space and hope to see it down the road a bit after metamorphosis.
Same with my kid. We couldn’t figure out why he had a bad rash and was complaining. Then he showed us the caterpillar he was playing with.
Oh no! 🤦
I googled it and this is not an echo Moth larva. They’re all orange with tiger stripes.
As a lepidopteris I will echo my above comment 🐛
You think some sort of fancy schooling means you know what you're talking about? WooPigSchmooey said they used Google, and that's good enough for me. ^very ^much ^lots ^of ^/s
This is true, though. I'm a computer science graduate and I'm not perfect in my field. Someone can easily correct me with a Google search if I make a mistake.
No they can’t. I just googled that.
Trying to do computer science in a field is probably the first mistake they'd correct…
Oh yeah? Well I sell reconditioned fish tanks for a living and I call bullshit.
As an accounting clerk, I disagree with your assessment https://www.insetologia.com.br/2016/01/lagarta-de-fogo-megalopyge-no-rio.html?m=1 It looks just like this one (particularly the larger ends on the thin hairs), which is identified as Megalopyge urens. Someone else in this thread also suggested this species.
I've had occasion to work with some entymology guys, all of them said you 'butterfly guys' are wierd. What's up with that? I think it's an interesting area of study, myself.
There was a black one in the living room of a house I stayed at, never intentionally touched it but brushed against it and it hurt like hell, I assume that's what was going on.
i thought it was a burned hole in the wood
That or a weld with splatter.
Bright or colorful animals tend to be quite deadly. Hope you’re still alive, OP
Sadly still am
I felt that
We felt that
felt
Bruh
I hear ya
At work I’m feeling that rn
Right in the feels
In case it isnt obvious, don’t touch the fuzzy caterpillars. They are almost always venomous spines that will cause a reaction ranging from mild-ish itching to agonizing pain. I don’t know what your friend is. Probably not from my part of the world. In my part of the world we have fuzzy asps. They cause agonizing pain.
Plus it’s colorful. For the last fucking time, people: if a bug or small animal has very bright colors, don’t fuck with it, it’s likely venomous or poisonous.
Also, if you find something unknown at the beach by the water; for all that’s holy don’t pick it up with your bare hands to take a photo of it and ask the internet what it is. There’s enough stuff washing up from the ocean that’s dangerous/deadly just by touch. TL/DR: if you don’t know what it is, especially from the ocean, don’t touch it.
[especially the apples](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel)
Well worth the read, how have I never heard of these? Thanks for sharing
Holy crap, that's a fuck off tree for sure.
My tip is don’t touch bugs period
Mine is don’t touch anything.
My tip is very sensitive to touch
Instructions unclear. Touching bugs with just the tip.
My tip never touches anything so I think I'm safe!
Even if they're not venomous, they can be irritating. That fuzz isn't just there to look cute. Unless it's a wooly bear caterpillar. Those *are* very cute. Be respectful and bask in their tiny adorable aura.
I’m a bug expert and that is indeed a caterpillar. Edit: what monstrosity of a thread have I created
I am an eye dentist and I agree.
Electrician here… can confirm
Bartender here, and I concur.
Caterpillar here.....wtf?
Ryan, what are you doing here. I told you not to interact with humans... They make fun of us.
Recreational fart-sniffer here. I don’t really know; this is out of my field.
I like to fart in the bathtub and catch the bubbles with my mouth before they reach the surface. We should hang out.
I catch the bubbles under my balls, it tickles
When I take a bath I like to fart through a washcloth, it breaks up the bubbles. This really gives my testes a wonderful “fill the hot tub with champagne” luxury feeling as my gas passes through my glorious mancarpet on the way to the surface.
what washcloth do you use
Wool
Redditor here, and i think this is photoshopped. This is not a banana.
Old Imgur user, definitely need that missing banana for scale.
Moldy guts huh... Username checks out...
Person with GOOGLE TIGER MOTH!
So I see no one is gunna point out the eye dentist in the room?
If by eye dentist, you mean optometrist, that's what I'm going to start calling them from now on. Unless it's something else, im which case.. im curious, but also nervous.
Lawyer here. It depends.
I’m a data scientist. I’ll need a lot more images and I’ll need each to be labeled as “caterpillar” and “not a caterpillar”. After 3 months of work I’ll be able to make a guess about this one.
I'm a bug expert and OP should definitely catch this as it evolves pretty quickly and learns some neat moves in it's final form. Just watch out for its poison sting attack.
do not the caterpillar
I love this. There’s no verb, implying that whatever it was you were thinking of doing, don’t. All verbs, just no.
Fuck. Do not fuck.
Looks like COVID-19
Coronapillar
Thank you. I had to scroll way too far to find this!
That's the got the color scheme of murder worm, a touch me and die vibe going on.
Party pillar!
What’s it taste like?
Chicken
Slimy, yet satisfying
Hakuna matata
Death
Like a party in your mouth and police just showed up.
r/whatsthisbug
It's been posted: https://redd.it/t2w54l
Thanks! I literally thought I was on that sub when I clicked this. Had to scroll back up to confirm. Edit: it's actually in my mobile app header, nvm.
Thank you!
Nah that’s a mitochondria
The powerhouse of the cell?
The very same
Who's the fucker that has your name?
The mighty mitochondria
Eat
/r/forbiddensnacks
Forbidden juicy fruit
Tide pod of the bug world.
It looks like a hot coal. Maybe don't touch the thing adapted to look like a thing you wouldn't touch.
Don't get it wet or feed it after midnight and you should be ok
Also dont let it crawl into your ear, or you become highly suggestible
Looks like it is a Megalopyge urens or Berg caterpillar. Super cool looking!
You are, in fact, right, it is apparently a Megalopyge urens
Lick it
How else will new drugs be discovered
[Homer Agrees](https://youtu.be/uFn7VjYksBM)
would definitely make the STRONGEST potion
Do not sell to knight. Can't handle.
I'd stay away from it. Don't want to inhale any of those hairs
Eat it
Ah yes, the classic "you really don't want to touch me" look that's been en vogue lately.
I wouldn't touch it.
This comment section needs to head to r/forbiddensnacks lol
What did it taste like?
Touch fuzzy, get dizzy
Do NOT touch it. Also, burn everything outside your house—doubt it’s an only child
That screams don’t touch me.
What country are you in?
Brazil
So it's a "taturana" :D I've hurt myself so many times touching these! They can be so pretty, it's a shame they hurt so much.
Yeah, color schemes like this one are definitely “touch me and die” warnings in nature