Douglas-FirTussock Moth Orgyia pseudotsugata Caterpillar

Over the weekend I attended a birthday party for the child of my daughter's best friend. Here's a picture of us finding this caterpillar before it was smushed by running children with bubbles and balloons. I didn't turn the phone around, so you see us before you see it.

I felt that it was only right because, damn, my daughter is gorgeous and she's the one who spotted Doug The Caterpillar (we name everything). When I discovered what this creature was actually identified as, well... we had that moment where we were teenagers giggling about "orgy ... pseudo whatever but definitely Doug was involved."

I'll give y'all a moment to shake your heads at us and our immature antics and contemplate this creature.

We removed Doug from the soapy mess of balloon raiders and placed him on a tree where we could get better pictures.

Evidently, this lil guy can decimate a fir tree rather quickly and efficiently. This one was about 2" long and had the spikes that would appear to poke up violently when the creature was disturbed. We figured we shouldn't touch it. Ever. Wikipedia says this:

The Douglas-fir tussock moth is native to forests of western North America and outbreaks have been identified in British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Outbreaks occur in cycles around eight to twelve years and usually last up to four years, sometimes longer. Reports from Idaho and Washington indicate 2011 had a major outbreak. The larvae feed on Pseudotsuga and Abies species, especially Douglas fir, grand fir, white fir, and subalpine fir.

They do tend to have the ability to thin out a thick forest, so the idea is to keep them contained. It was odd to find this lil' guy hiccupping around the park where we were because they tend to become moths in July, so he's behind in his cocooning stage.

I tried unsuccessfully to get hims litto face close enough to the camera but he was in a hurry to get his cocoon phase over.

Every attempt I made to get him to stop squirming so I could get a picture of his amazing red dots on his back failed.

Hey, I give myself points for trying, and some of those images turned out really well. I've seen the moth version of this guy, and they have the antennae that look like feathers. So at least some of their "Before Wings" version is similar. I'll have to keep a look out for them, and make a report. Like CSI style. They're not something that should be ignored.

Thank you, so much, for reading and I always welcome your comments!
Take a look at @Labyrinths when you have a moment, and join our labyrinth community on HIVE if you're interested. We just started it, so there's not much going on yet, but if you're ever in the need for a "down to earth" (but not too earthy) psychic, you can find me online at Brigid's Aether.

Any images and graphics (unless noted) are mine.