A mother hopes to raise awareness about a cute looking creepy-crawly that can be poisonous and venomous.
Eleven-year-old Leland Warren was with a friend at his Ottawa school last week, when they found a toxic Hickory Tussock moth caterpillar, which are prevalent this time of year.
The pair named the fuzzy little black and white crawler Frosty The Snowman and Leland brought it home.
Within hours, Leland, who has many allergies, started turning pale. One side of his face became swollen, almost closing an eye, and he developed hives on his face and neck.
He told CTVNews Ottawa: “I felt sick with a headache and in the morning I had all swelled up and could barely open my eye.”
When his mom Debra Warren started looked up different types of caterpillars online, she realized Frosty was actually a venomous caterpillar.
She said some children will develop a burn-like rash, and children with sensitive skin or other allergies might develop a severe anaphylactic reaction.
According to the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, these moths feed on the leaves of hickory, ash, oak,walnut and elm trees as they prepare to overwinter in a cocoon.
Dr Jessica Forrest, a biologist at the University of Ottawa, said the caterpillar is poisonous as well as venomous.
The hairs on this family of caterpillars can cause a rash or irritation and in rare cases a life threatening reaction.
She says: “There’s lots of caterpillars that can cause some level of allergic response if you’re touching them, particularly hairy caterpillars.”
She recommends admiring the caterpillars from a distance.
That's the advice Debra wants to get out and hopes her son heeds it next time he encounters one.
“I’m probably not going to do that again,” Leland says, “unless it’s a non-venomous caterpillar.”
--- With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Joanne Schnurr
