The genus Lonomia is a moderate-sized group of fairly cryptic saturniid moths from South America, famous not for the adults, but for their highly venomous caterpillars, which are responsible for a few deaths each year, especially in southern Brazil, and the subject of hundreds of published medical studies. They are commonly known as giant silkworm moth, a name also used for a wide range of other saturniid moths.
The genus Lonomia is a moderate-sized group of fairly cryptic saturniid moths from South America, famous not for the adults, but for their highly venomous caterpillars, which are responsible for a few deaths each year, especially in southern Brazil, and the subject of hundreds of published medical studies. They are commonly known as giant silkworm moth, a name also used for a wide range of other saturniid moths.
Source: Wikipedia "Lonomia" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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