Megalopyge opercularis

An asp in it's larval form on our gate post. Wikipedia says: "The 'fur' of the larva contains venomous spines that cause extremely painful reactions in human skin upon contact. The reactions are sometimes localized to the affected area but are often very severe, radiating through the limb and causing numbness, tingling, rashes and blisters, and more systemic symptoms such as chest pain and anaphylaxis."

This critter stung Erinn on her lower arm last night and she was in a lot of pain. If the bendadryl and ibuprofen hadn't helped we were going to go to the ER! Thankfully, they did help and she fell asleep for the night around 9. We also kept ice on it for 3 hours, and a heating pad on low on her shoulder helped relieve the deep pain there. Last night we went looking for what stung her but didn't find it until just before we went to town this morning. I told Kris not to smash it until I got a picture so we could try to identify it later.