A Nanaimo, B.C., mother says an encounter with a furry caterpillar sent her eight-month-old daughter to the hospital.

Krystal Dawn Pavan said she was playing with baby Kenzie and her three-year-old son Logan on the family's deck last Thursday morning when her daughter suddenly became hysterical.

"She had her mouth open and she had these black pieces inside it," said Pavan.

"I figured she must have got a bug in her mouth, so I grabbed a wet cloth and I went to go wipe it out ... but whatever it was was fused to the inside of her mouth."

Pavan started panicking, thinking her daughter had somehow burned her mouth, and took her daughter to a Nanaimo hospital.

"When the doctor finally pulled us into a room and I mentioned a caterpillar to him and instantly he said, 'that's exactly what it is.'"

The woolly-looking caterpillar of the silver spotted tiger moth has stinging hairs that cause a burning sensation. (gov.bc.ca)

Venomous stinging hairs

The doctor told Pavan that a silver spotted tiger moth was the culprit. The woolly-looking caterpillar of the moth has venomous stinging hairs that cause a burning sensation.

"All their little tentacles and feet are fused to the inside of her cheek and all the little hairs and spine are all up and down her tongue," explained Pavan.

Kenzie was transferred by ambulance from Nanaimo to Victoria, where she underwent an hour-long operation to remove the pieces of caterpillar from her mouth.

She spent the night in hospital and returned home to Nanaimo the next day.

Following her "crazy" experience, Pavan posted a warning message on Facebook: "ATTN PARENTS!! Watch out for those cute fuzzy orange and black caterpillars!!"

With files from Yvette Brend​