Saddleback Caterpillar - Look but Don't Touch

Look at this cutie pie - like a little brown dog wearing a sweater knitted by someone whose team colors are lime green and brown.

We found one in the trail this morning, and moved it off to one side. Back home, I found that it is venomous, and not uncommon in the eastern US.

Venomous caterpillars don't inject their poison like wasps, they just have little spines that carry it and break off in the skin of those who bother them.

Since venomous insects often boast garish colors to warn away predators, the football sweater should have tipped us off.