Yes, Virginia, there IS a caterpillar with vomit-inducing poisonous fur

The feral hogs are rampaging around the South. Millions of them. Trampling crops and scaring the bejesus out of small children just trying to play in their backyards. And they're heading North. The feral hogs, not the small children. As far as I know. 

Murder hornets are only in the state of Washington. So far. But they're apparently about to enter into slaughter mode. Good thing they'll be decapitating all the bees in the hives they're attacking, rather than decapitating humans. Still, the bees are our friends. Pollination and all that. Plus, if they do turn on humans - and, seriously, who could blame them - I have a brother and sister in law in Washington. Duck and cover, kids!

Our perennial favorite in these parts, the mosquito carrying Eastern equine encephalitis, has been lurking around backyards all summer. Kind of makes me happy I don't have a backyard. But I am casting a cold eye on the water pooling in a corner of the storage shed that's out there were a backyard would be if my building had one. 

So why should we be surprised to learn about a new nasty-arse critter on the horizon, down in Old Virginny, making it about 600 miles too close for comfort. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the puss caterpillar:

Puss caterpillars’ fuzz hides spines filled with poison. It’s the most poisonous caterpillar found in the U.S., and its sting can cause nausea, vomiting, swelling and itching, and feelings of anxiety. Not pleasant, to say the least. In recent weeks, Virginia residents have unfortunately had a chance to experience this. A woman in the Richmond area touched one and said it felt like a “scorching-hot knife passing through the outside of my calf.” She was admitted to the emergency room to treat the sting. This is Virginia’s second outbreak of weird bugs this year. Cicadas overran the state this summer, buzzing up a storm.(Source: Gizmodo)

Cicadas are one thing. Puss caterpillars? Shudder, shudder. 

Cicadas don't make me puke, nor do they bring me "feelings of anxiety." On the other hand - or, given that they're caterpillars, maybe it's on the other foot - puss caterpillars. 

In the past, puss caterpillars have been in the Deep South, but with climate change, they're moving North. 

With luck, the feral hogs coming North will develop a liking for them.