Samuel Hagler, a Twitter follower, asked if I could identify a caterpillar he encountered in Bolivia. Samuel is pedaling his way from Paraguay to the U.S. to raise money for the San Rafael Reserve. While in the Madidi Travel's Private Protected Area, in Serere, Bolivia, Samuel brushed against a plant and was stung - by this colorful caterpillar. He showed the caterpillar to his local guides:
This saddleback caterpillar's identity remains a mystery.
Photo: Samuel Hagler, www.RideForTheTrees.com
The guide I was with gave me no information or name, but when I told him it stung me he winced and found a plant on the ground (he said any of a number of plants in the area would have worked) to prevent swelling. I was under the impression he wasn't exactly sure how poisonous it was, but that similar caterpillars could be very poisonous. I don't know the name of the plant, but I was told to rub the leaf on the sting with saliva, which I did. There was no swelling or further pain.
I immediately noticed this caterpillar bears a striking resemblance to a North American species, the saddleback caterpillar. Unable to find a name for the South American cousin, I emailed Dr. Lee Dyer of Tulane University, who studies caterpillars in Ecuador. Dr. Dyer agreed that the specimen belonged to the family Limacodidae, but couldn't tell me what species it might be. He graciously put me in touch with Dr. Marc Epstein, the world's expert on Limacodidae. If anyone could identify this caterpillar, he could.
Indeed, Dr. Epstein had seen this caterpillar before. In fact, he told me, he had a specimen from Peru. His caterpillar had even pupated, but the adult had never emerged from the cocoon. Dr. Epstein is currently revising the taxonomy for the genus Acharia, to which this mystery caterpillar belongs, but has yet to put a name to this species.
The moral of the story: we've still got a lot to learn about the insects in our world. This caterpillar belongs to the most economically and medically important genus in the southern hemisphere, according to Dr. Epstein. The caterpillar has a distinct and recognizable look, and local guides knew what to do for its sting. And yet, this insect remains nameless, as do thousands or perhaps millions of others.
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