There’s a type of caterpillar that lives here in Texas commonly called an asp. It’s tiny, between one and two inches long, and covered in a fine-looking brown fur, like tiny oblong tribbles. Very cute, fairly common, and also surprisingly dangerous; their furry outer layer conceals venomous spines that, when touched, can become embedded in skin. The spines deliver a very painful sting with effects that can last hours to days. In the fall they are abundant in the region, so it’s important to be aware of these sorts of thing. Being a Texas native myself, I am acquainted with the danger of asps, but for anyone foreign to the fuzzy guys, petting one or can be unpleasant, to say the least.

Anyway, the story is: one afternoon last fall I found one on the sidewalk, and to risk any harm coming to it or a passerby, I scooped it up with my ID card. I walked it over to a little patch of moss and then proceeded to take a photoshoot with it. Here are the results (taken from my Instagram):