Please don't pet the caterpillars!

Heck, when I was a kid, I used to pick up caterpillars all of the time, and not a single scar to show for it. But I dunno, but lately it seems like all the caterpillars I am finding around here (except the hordes of tent caterpillars) seem like they don't want to have anything at all to do with someone or something picking them up. Downright unfriendly of them.

I won't touch any of them.

I've always loved caterpillars and, as a kid, never hesitated to pick one up. Until one time I picked up this unusual spiky black one and my hand started to feel numb and painful.

One year when I was maybe about 6, our area had a caterpillar infestation. No idea what type they were, but they were harmless. I loved it! Our neighbor paid me to pick all the caterpillars off her fruit tree. I filled an entire ice cream tub with them.