Species Acharia stimulea - Saddleback Caterpillar Moth - Hodges#4700

Bought a CherryLaurel shrub 5 days ago; picked it up to move it and was stung, I thought by a small bee (didn't see any critter). But yesterday 2 of us were planting it & helper got stung in same place! Now curious, we inspected, found 2 extraordinary looking caterpillars; had to ID them to learn species. 5 days ago I put ice and Adolph's meat tenderizer on mine (for bee stings) but a day later got a series of bumps that drove me mad -- now 5 days later and rash is still there, itching, burning... awful! Now using a steroid cream on it. This is one species I will now watch for very carefully!

Last Night, 09/01/04 by a Saddleback Moth,I was smart enough to take an antihistimine right away, (Benadril). The sting left mw swollen and it burned as would a burn for a few hours. I Believe the Benadril saved me from further pain. The swelling was gone by this morning, and I have no visiable swelling or marks from that ugly little thing. I even saved it in a zip lock back and froze it just incase I had bad side effects. I also didn't know what it was until I took a picture of it, and asked a few people. My co-workers girlfriend looked it up and told me about this site. I hope your daughter is okay, but you should give her an antihistimine if she is still expierencing problems from the attack!!
Diane Wolf

4 days ago, pulling ivy off my porch, I slightly brushed my forearm against this little caterpillar. The sting was extremely painful, like a wasp sting, but with a burning sensation. It left a crescent pattern of whelps, about the size of a half dollar.

When I realized what had stung me, I used a piece of packing tape to pull the remaining spines (invisible, but definitely there) out of my arm. The burning subsided greatly after this. I washed it in cold water and mild antibacterial soap. I tried to apply topical itch cream, but this only irritated it. Ice was, and has continued to be, the greatest relief for me (ironically, I'm allergic to benadryl).

For the next few hours after the sting, the joints in my elbow and shoulder, and the upper side under my arm were a bit sore and stiff. This was extent of my initial reaction. To my knowledge, I'm not allergic to any insects, I'm 29 and in good health, so perhaps this was just a small reaction to the toxin. The pain was gone in about 3 or 4 hours.

So this was 4 days ago, and the whelps have turned into several little blisters, like what you get when ants bite; they are still very much visible. Over the last few days I have had minor "itch attacks" where the spot would flare up and itch tremendously. After applying ice, the itch would subside very quickly.

Overall, it was a very interesting experience, as I have never seen this caterpiller before; however, I do think I've seen the moths perched around our outdoor lights. We captured the caterpillar and created a little jar habitat for it. Surprisingly, it has already spun a cocoon. It will be exciting to see such a nasty little creature turn into a harmless and rather plain moth.
God bless,
Jessica

I was stung 9/11/05. Can only say I agree with everyone the burning and stinging sensations lasts quite a while. Took benadryl, and can only imagine how much worse it would have been without. Used lots of ice which kept swelling down, but seemed to make burning much worse. Hopefully will not run across this little critter again. Never seen or heard of before today. Hopefully it will stay in the East far from Indiana.