1. Beautiful but Venomous! 🐛

I used to cringe (even ran away at the speed of lightning 😂) when I see any sort of caterpillars eversince young. However, after living for few years in the highland of Ba'Kelalan, Sarawak with my husband, working in its jungles, surrounded almost everyday by nature's wildlife, with all kinds of bewildering flora and fauna; I conquered my phobia. 🎉 📷 - 👋🐛 Say hello to this unique caterpillar spotted in the jungle! I tried to run after it this time, but it ran away from me 🤷🏻‍♀️. Hence, the blurry photo! I studied about this particular caterpillar and found it similar to the dangerous family of the White-marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar. Except the one here has red-marked tussock. Beautiful as it may look, it is actually venomous. 📄 - Thought you should know! While most caterpillars are harmless, even though some may look menacing, there are a few that can cause mild to moderate stings. It's not going to kill you, so don't worry too much. But it could give you a bad rash. It is important to make sure folks are aware that some caterpillars can be dangerous. Some caterpillars have stinging hairs/spines which are hollow and filled with venom from a gland at the base of the hairs. When contacted, the hairs break and venom gets into the wound caused by the hairs/spines. The older the caterpillar, the more potent its sting will be, with the most powerful; right before it pupates. It is thought that exposure to the creature's tiny hairs, called setae, triggers an overactive immune response in some people. Reacting to what it perceives to be a threat, the immune system will flood the body with a pro-inflammatory compound called histamine. This can incite an array of allergic symptoms involving the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. ⚠️ - Based on my past experience in 2018, I once accidentally got in contact with an already dead but hairy adult moth. Just within minutes, symptoms and rashes started showing all over my skin. It got worst over the few days, eventually weeks and I fell ill for 4 months straight. Long story! But i do hope, everyone will take note of this, especially if you have children who gets intrigue by these fuzzy cute little creatures, try to avoid touching them. ❤ 📍 Ba'Kelalan, Sarawak Highland, Malaysian Borneo #mycountry #malaysia #sarawak #nature #caterpillars #moth #dangerous