Electric caterpillar and venomous sting a menace to Townsville gardeners

North Queenslanders can add a venomous bug with a ferocious sting to its list of animals that will mess up your week. Meet the electric caterpillar>>

The vibrantly coloured, spiky caterpillar of the comparatively mundane Comana monomorpha moth. Picture: Supplied

A venomous caterpillar with a ferocious sting regarded as a menace to Townsville gardeners could provide researchers with sources for new medicines and insecticides.

Dr Andrew Walker of the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience said the “electric caterpillar” could “cause a severe itch, sting or burning sensation” that lasted for days.

“All caterpillars do is eat and grow, and they don’t move very fast, so are very vulnerable to predation – their defence mechanisms include camouflage, irritative hairs, and venom-injecting spines.”

The vibrantly coloured, spiky caterpillar of the comparatively mundane Comana monomorpha moth. Picture: Supplied

Dr Walker, a molecular entomologist with an interest in caterpillars and their venom, said his team travelled to Townsville in the hunt for the vibrantly coloured, spiky caterpillar of the comparatively mundane Comana monomorpha moth.

The 'electric' caterpillar sting can cause pain for days. Picture: Supplied

We heard about this caterpillar with a ferocious sting and were keen to test its venom, so went up to Townsville to find one – it hangs out on lilly pillies, so we looked in any lilly pilly we came across,” he said.

“After a couple of days of no luck, we put a message on some community gardening discussion boards, and received an outpouring of stories of the extreme pain and hospital visits these caterpillars have caused.”

Dr Andrew Walker of the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Picture: Supplied

Dr Walker said the venom caused long-lasting lesions, with little relief available from ice packs or the usual sting-relief gels.

He said the venom was similar to that produced by a family of American insects called asp caterpillars, which are also known for their painful stings.

“It’s a really different composition to the venoms produced by the other species in this family we have studied so far, which provides exciting possibilities for finding useful molecules in the venom that we can use in other ways.”

Originally published as Electric caterpillar and venomous sting a menace to Townsville gardeners