What’s that yellow, hairy thing on my porch?

I never know what I’ll find on my porch – possums, raccoons, a chipmunk hiding inside a shoe, bird feathers, cat vomit, hornets nest, ants drowned in the hummingbird feeder, a dead mouse on the doormat. The cats rule the porch except when other animals come to steal their food, then they act as if they never cared for the food in the first place.

Today, I found this fuzzy, lemon-colored creature crawling along the handle of a basket.

American dagger moth caterpillar

It looks like you could touch it and stroke its fluffy “fur.” But these American Dagger Moth caterpillars (Acronicta americana) are best left alone. Handling them might cause an allergic reaction. Despite their brilliant yellow color in their caterpillar incarnation, they do not turn into some fancy butterfly – just a big brown moth.

But while they are caterpillars, they do flaunt their beauty, don’t they?!