I saw something unusual on the floor and couldn’t even understand what I was looking at. It lay completely still, like a tiny piece of bright green plant, a torn-off bit of an indoor vine… or maybe a child’s toy that had fallen off the table. 

I stood over it, trying to figure out what it could be. The shape was too perfect, the color too vivid, and those little “horns” on the sides looked almost plastic.

But as soon as I leaned in a little closer, the “thing” twitched.  I froze. Then it suddenly moved and began to crawl.

I nearly screamed in fear. The creature looked so bizarre it could’ve come straight out of a sci-fi movie about aliens. 

It crawled slowly across the floor, and dark spines stuck out of its body — long, thin, as if it were warning me: “Do not touch me.”

When I found out what it actually was, I was horrified — and luckily nothing happened to me. 

I shared the details in the first comment, but be careful 

Later I learned that it was a saddleback caterpillar. And I can consider myself incredibly lucky: if I had picked it up with my hand, like I almost did at first, things could have ended very badly.

Its spines contain venom that is injected into the skin with even the slightest touch. It causes sharp pain, redness, swelling, blisters, and sometimes dizziness, nausea, and numbness.

Many people end up in the hospital after contact because the pain is nearly unbearable. I sat there reading all of this with a cold shiver running down my back.

One wrong move — and my hand would have swollen up.

What should you do if you accidentally touch one?

First, carefully remove the spines with tape. Then wash the area with soap and water, apply ice, and if the reaction is strong — take an antihistamine and seek medical attention.

I gently swept the caterpillar into a jar and released it far out in the garden. It can live — just not in my house.

Since then, whenever I see something strange on the floor, I think twice before touching it.