NEWS USA TODAY z MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 z 3A
Don’t be fooled by caterpillars with
colorful and fuzzy exteriors: They
might be poisonous.
Stinging, venomous caterpillars
have plagued the South and parts of
the Midwest.
In Michigan, the Clare County
Chamber of Commerceissued a warn-
ing Oct. 10 for residents to avoid the
American dagger moth caterpillar,
which was spotted on a college cam-
pus.
The puss caterpillar – one of the
most venomous of its kind in the USA- has appeared in Florida, Texas and
South Carolina.
Generally, stinging caterpillars –
mainly the puss caterpillar, also
known as the Southern flannel moth or
the asp – are rare north of the Mason-
Dixon Line, says David Wagner, an en-
tomologist at the University of Con-
necticut. Even in the South, where
they’re most frequently spotted,
they’re uncommon, he says.
When these caterpillars sting, the
symptoms can range from mild dis-
comfort to severe pain that can last
hours.
Stings from the American dagger
can cause itching and burning sensa-
tions that can turn into a severe rash.
Puss caterpillars’ spines can cause a
“nasty” reaction, Wagner says, caus-
ing severe pain and leaving behind a
hematoma, a swelling of blood on the
skin.
“It’s not an instantaneous shock of
a hornet or wasp, but it builds for a
long time in a frightening way,” Wag-
ner tells USA TODAY. “No one expects
stings to gain in impact or discomfort,
and these will, even up to an hour later.
It packs quite a wallop.”
How to spot a venomous
caterpillarCaterpillars that are brightly col-
ored, have spines or hairs are probably
venomous and should not be touched.
“If it is in a place where it can cause
problems, clip off the leaf or use a stick
to relocate it,” Ric Bessin, an entomol-
ogist at the University of Kentucky
College of Agriculture, tells USA TO-
DAY.
Bessin says some caterpillars’ ven-
omous spines and hairs came about as
a defense mechanism against preda-
tors.
Puss caterpillars have a hairy light-
brown coatthat Wagner describes as
“super soft and cuddly.” American
dagger moth caterpillars are bright yel-
low-greenwith black bristles that re-
semble eyebrows.
It’s a warning sign for predators,
Wagner cautions.What to do if you come into
contact with a venomous
caterpillarThe most crucial advice Wagner
and Bessin offer is not to brush the cat-
erpillar from your skin. Swatting off
the caterpillar makes it more likely
that the venomous hairs or spines will
be left on your clothing.
Instead, very carefully remove the
caterpillar with a stick or another ob-
ject, Bessin advises.
Once the caterpillar has been re-
moved, take a shower, Wagner sug-
gests.
Wash your contaminated clothes as
well, as a few hairs or spines might re-
main.
Contributing: Maryann Struman,
Detroit Free Press.‘Cuddly’caterpillarsmight bepoisonousStinging critters plagueSouth and MidwestJoshua Bote
USA TODAYPuss caterpillars may look innocuous,
but they have venom injectors that
pack “quite a wallop,” says University
of Connecticut entomologist David
Wagner.GETTY IMAGESKeep your eyes to the night sky late
Monday night and especially early
Tuesday morning – you might get a
peek at the Orionid meteor shower.
“I would rank the Orionids in the top
five meteor showers of the year,” Accu-
Weather astronomy blogger Dave Sa-
muhel said. ”It will be the strongest
shower since the Perseids of August ...
The Orionids provide 20 to 25 meteors
per hour on the peak night.”
Orionid meteors are debris left be-
hind by Halley’s Comet, arguably the
most famous of all comets, according
to Deborah Byrd of EarthSky.org. “This
comet leaves debris in its wake that
strikes Earth’s atmosphere most fully
around Oct. 20-22, while Earth inter-
sects the comet’s orbit, as it does every
year at this time,” Byrd said.
The Orionids are some of the fastest
and brightest among meteor showers
because the Earth is hitting the stream
of particles almost head-on, according
to Space.com. How fast? Most zip by at
41 miles per second, which translates
to about 148,000 mph.If the meteors originate from Hal-
ley’s, why are they called the Orionids?
“Meteors in annual showers are
named for the point in our sky from
which they appear to radiate,” accord-
ing to Byrd. “The radiant point for the
Orionids is in the direction of the fam-
ous constellation Orion the Hunter.”
To view the shower, try to avoid
light pollution and don’t use binocu-
lars or telescopes, Weather.com said.
Though the meteors will emanate from
the eastern horizon, they will be visible
from anywhere on Earth, NASA said.
The best time to view the shower is
after midnight, when the constellation
Orion rises high above the horizon.
Unfortunately, the moon will be a
bit of an issue this year as it will rise
just after midnight on the peak night
and will be around 50% illuminated,
AccuWeather said.
Clouds could also cause problems
for viewing in the eastern and north-
western U.S., AccuWeather said, not-
ing the best views should be in the
central and southwestern USA.
If you miss this one, you can catch
the Leonids in November and the Ge-
minds in December.Orionid meteor shower: The best viewof the shower will be tonightOrionRigelAldebaranTaurusdebaOrionids radiant point:
The meteors will streak
outward near the
Orion constellationESESOURCE earthsky.orgLook up! Forecast callsfor a meteor showerDoyle Rice
USA TODAYA fourth grade boy who wasn’t quite
sure what to wear for school photos
took his dad up on a bet – and the re-
sulting photo has caught the attention
of thousands on social media.
Jake Arsenault’s mom, Kari, sug-
gested the 9-year-old wear an old Hal-
loween costume: a hot dog.
Jake wasn’t sold on his mom’s idea
at first. That’s according to Jake’s fa-
ther, Craig Arsenault, who spoke to
USA TODAY on Saturday.
“Dude, do it. ... It’ll be legendary,”
Arsenault says he encouraged. He re-
members promising his son $10 if he
went through with wearing the cos-
tume to the Biddeford Intermediate
School photo day about three weeks
agoin Maine.
This week, Jake’s school ID card
came – with the hot dog suit photo.
Arsenault took a photo of the card
Thursdayand posted it to his profes-
sional Facebook page, which he uses
for his work at a U.S. Army recruiter.
“The school let him do it, and I
couldn’t be happier,” the caption says.
Arsenault says he often mixes profes-
sional and personal posts on the page.
Since Thursday, the post has at-
tracted tens of thousands of shares.
While Arsenault said he has gotten
some pushback from people con-
cerned for Jake’s safety who were wor-
ried about his decision to put his son’s
ID card on the internet, he told USA
TODAY that such critics are living in
fear and he is confident his son is safe.
Hot-dogging
4th grader’s ID
goes viral
Joel Shannon
USA TODAY
Jake Arsenault’s Biddeford
Intermediate School ID shows him
posing in a hot dog costume — the
result of a bet with his dad.
CRAIG ARSENAULT
Nestor, a once feared and fierce trop-
ical storm, was helping more than hurt-
ing Sunday as it nudged north while
spreading much-needed rain over a
wide swath of the East.
The center of the storm was hovering
over North Carolina on Sunday and was
expected to slide offshore into the At-
lantic Ocean by sometime Monday.
The storm triggered at least eight tor-
nadoes in Florida and Georgiaon Friday
and Saturday, and Nestor still packed
enough punch when it reached South
Carolina late Saturday to damage a few
homes in Myrtle Beach.
On Sunday, however, Nestor’s rem-
nants were bringing relief to rain-
starved areas as far north as Pennsylva-
nia, New Jersey and New York, Accu-
Weather Senior Meteorologist Dan Py-
dynowski said.
“The tornadoes undoubtedly cause
some damage. That was one aspect of
Nestor,” Pydynowski told USA TODAY.
“But the rain on the whole was a positive
for the entire region – unless you had
outdoor plans.”
The 2019 hurricane season has been
one for the record books. Hurricane
Dorian was the strongest hurricane to
strike the Bahamas since such record-
keeping began in 1851. Hurricane Loren-
zo was the largest and most powerful
hurricane to make it so far east in the
Atlantic, bringing gusty winds to Ire-
land and the United Kingdom. And at
one point last month, six named storms
were active at once in the Atlantic and
Pacific, matching a record first set in
1992.
Nestor was a tropical storm when it
made landfall Friday on Florida’s St.
Vincent Island, spinning tornadoes that
flipped vehicles, damaged roofs and
uprooted trees on the nature preserve
off Florida’s Panhandle. More than 300
miles to the southeast, school was can-
celed for Monday and Tuesday at Kath-
leen Middle School in Polk County after
the storm tore a large hole in the roof.
“Our main building took damage due
to strong winds during the storm early
Sat morning,” the school said in a Face-
book post. “Luckily this happened at a
time where students and staff were not
on campus.”
Power was being restored to thou-
sands of homes and businesses, and
tropical storm surge warnings were can-
celed as Nestor’s wrath eased. MexicoBeach, devastated by Hurricane Mi-
chael one year ago, had braced for Nes-
tor by providing residents with sand-
bags and shovels. Mayor Al Cathey
said no damage was reported – adding
that his city needed the rain.
Pydynowski said much of the re-
gion, from Florida all the way to New
England, had been under moderate
drought warnings. In some areas the
drought was severe, he added.
Long Island and New England are
expected to get rain Sunday night and
early Monday before Nestor moves off
the coast and into history, Pydynowski
said.
“At this point it’s pretty unlikely we
would get any more damaging storms
from Nestor,” he said. “And generally
speaking, this rain has been a good
thing.”
Contributing: The Associated Press8 tornadoes later, Nestor
helps more than hurts
A camper rests on top of a boat trailer and the corner of a home as Tropical
Storm Nestor passed the area on Saturday in Kathleen, Fla.
LUIS SANTANA/APRemnants bring needed
rain to parched areas
John Bacon
USA TODAY
“But the rain on the whole was a
positive for the entire region – unless
you had outdoor plans.”
Dan Pydynowski,
AccuWeather senior meteorologist