Both of these hairy creatures, if they come in contact with a person s skin, can cause dermatitis. For some people, it can just cause itching, in other people it can cause a rash, Jonathan Stoddard, an associate certified entomologist and president of the South Daytona-based Imperial Pest Prevention, said. It’s not uncommon for children to pick them up because of the bright colors they have.
These two types of tussock moth caterpillars have red heads and what looks like black antennae projecting to the front and what looks like a static tail at the other end. They also have four dense tufts of hair on their backs.