Caterpillar Photo Shoot

You must be thinking that I have gone mad after reading the title. Maybe, but can you blame me? I fell inlove with this tiny lil' creature~~ what can I say.

Pretty hairy and often mistaken to be "dangerous" well, he probably is more of endangered than "dangerous".

Even as a kid, I have always been fascinated by them plenty legged creatures. I used to collect a lot of them back when I was young. I hid them in used and cleaned mayonaise glasses with lids I poked so they could breath. I fed them the very same leaves I found them hangin on. Till they curled and became a pupa. That's when I get pretty exited because I know they would soon morph.

I remember being so young and plucking one kind similar to this - pretty hairy. I let it creep on my arm and remembered brushing it off in shock from the sting its hair gave me. Red itchy bumps formed soon I went screaming back in the house to my Mamay. I told her it was - a "darapi" - meaning hairy caterpillar in Bicol. She untied her pony tailed hair and rubbed it on the red bumps. It soothed the sting indeed. From that time on, I have always done that whenever I experience as such. Who needs ointment when your hair can just do the trick - I have always kept mine pretty long.

I've seen this in my vegetable garden, too and just scooped it off with a leaf and moved it in the bushy peach tree. I wasn't sure whether he could eat it but at least there he's far from the sight of them beaked creatures for I really want him to morph and pay me a visit. It just crawled under a leaf and the next time I checked it was gone. Hopefully, morphing not pecked on.

This one must be days old and has a long time to wait till he morphs. Right now, he's just so free where he is. Doing what he does best - chewing and crawling while I photoshoot him.

No, they've never freaked me out not these. The only plenty legged creature that freaks me out is the centipede. Goosebumps with just the thought of them crawling but it's just because I don't know much about them.