Each spring, Tulane University becomes home to more than just students as swarms of stinging caterpillars return to New Orleans. Looking before stepping outside becomes routine for students hoping to avoid a painful sting. 

The most common species found locally is the buck moth.

“They’re covered in these hollow spines that are attached to a poison or venom sac,” Julia Sonn, Tulane professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, said. “The poison can cause symptoms ranging from stinging, itching [and] burning, to nausea.”

The caterpillars are often found on the ground near oak trees, where they feed and live. 

“It’s an interesting species because it’s really abundant here, and it’s actually endangered in other parts of the United States,” Sonn said.

Sophomore Braylen Faussete was stung by one of the caterpillars during her first year at Tulane. 

“I sat down on a bench that was kind of near a garden. [I] didn’t see the caterpillar, shot up…and had to hit it off with my fingers, and then my fingers blew up,” Faussete said. 

Faussete rated the initial pain as an eight out of ten, and said that the bulk of the pain died down after one to two hours. 

If stung, Sonn recommended taking immediate action at home and then seeking medical care. 

“The first best thing that you can do is take a piece of tape and put it across the affected area and lift out any spines that have been left in there. So, don’t squeeze or anything like that,” Sonn said. “If you have been stung, remove the spines and then go seek medical treatment.” 

Buck moths and other species of stinging caterpillars in New Orleans sting as a defense mechanism in this vulnerable life cycle stage. 

“They’re only toxic as caterpillars, not as butterflies, and that’s because caterpillars don’t have wings,”  Sonn said. “They can’t fly away. They’re very defenseless. They’re these big, fat, juicy, yummy-looking things to birds, and so they have to have some way to defend themselves.”