Fuzzy caterpillars can be unwise to touch because they often possess stinging hairs and/or spines. This caterpillar's appearance is an example of aposematic coloration, meaning bright colors or patterns which warn that an animal is armed with venom, toxic to eat, or otherwise distasteful. In this case, when I lightly blew on the caterpillar, the patch of red-orange hairs puffed up, and many of the tiny hairs came loose - no doubt a predator would regret breathing in these hairs or getting them in its eyes.
