I saw something strange on the floor in my house and didn’t even realize what it was. It lay motionless, like a piece of bright green plant, a torn-off part of some house vine… or maybe a child’s toy that had fallen off the table. 

I stood over it, trying to figure out what it was. The shape was too smooth, the color too bright, and those “horns” on the sides seemed plastic.

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

I almost screamed in fear. The creature looked so strange, like it had flown straight out of an Alien movie. 

It slowly crawled across the floor, and dark spikes protruded from its body—long, thin, as if it were specifically warning, “Don’t touch me.

When I found out what it really was, I was absolutely horrified, and fortunately, nothing happened to me. 

I gave the details in the first comment, and you be careful 

Later, I learned it was a saddle-necked caterpillar. And that I can consider myself incredibly lucky: if I had picked it up, as I intended to in the first seconds, everything could have ended very badly.

Its spines contain venom, which is injected into the skin at the slightest touch. People experience sharp pain, redness, swelling, blisters, and sometimes even dizziness, nausea, and numbness.

Many people go to the hospital after contact because the pain is so intense it’s unbearable. I sat and read all this, feeling a chill run down my spine.

Just one wrong move, and I would have been lying there with a swollen hand.

What should I do if I accidentally touch it?

First, carefully remove the spines with tape. Then wash with soap and water, apply ice, and if the reaction is severe, take an antihistamine and consult a doctor.

I carefully swept the caterpillar into a jar with a broom and took it far away into the garden. Let it live, but not in my house.

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