Lo Moth Caterpillar

Description:

The Lo Moth is a colorful North American moth in the Saturniidae family. The caterpillars are first orange in color and then turn bright green with many stinging spines. These stinging spines have a painful venom that is released when touched. The green caterpillars have two lateral stripes, the upper one is red and the lower one is white.

Habitat:

It's range includes southern Canada and in the US from Montana to New Mexico, to the east coast, all the way down to southern Florida. It's favored habitat is deciduous forests, thorn scrub, and suburban areas.

Notes:

This particular Lo Moth Caterpillar happened to be crawling along a hand-rail at the Six Mile Slough Preserve in Fort Myers, Florida.