Photo: Getty Images
Now that we're in the warmer months, you might encounter some strange things outside, anything from cheese on your car to purple painted posts, but there is one curious thing that if you wind up coming across, you should never touch it. It seems like an easy thing to do, but the strange object is a little creature that looks cute and furry, so much so that many feel compelled to reach out and run their finger along it, but those who do wind up very sorry. That's because the insect, a caterpillar, is incredibly toxic.
A video on Instagram explains how that "walking mustache," known as the puss caterpillar, is actually the most dangerous caterpillar in the U.S. It's found across the country but mainly in Texas, and under its soft-seeming fur are venomous spines, each with its own venom gland, so the more you touch it, the more you'll wish you didn't.
If you do come into contact with it, expect immediate excruciating pain and swelling, as well as vision problems, difficulty breathing and blisters that can last for weeks.
So let this be a lesson that just because something looks cute and touchable, does not mean you should touch it.