Clothes racks and caterpillars

After two weeks back in Goa I feel I have finally emerged from the "black hole" of post monsoon cleaning.

Post monsoon cleaning is the equivalent of old fashioned spring cleaning in Britain, where everything movable was taken outside for an airing, while floors were scrubbed, carpets beaten and curtains laundered. Each year, when I return to my appartment in Goa, after leaving it un-occupied for the main months of the monsoon (July and August) every cupboard and drawer has to be emptied and cleaned, to get rid of the white powdery mold which develops on the woodwork. One year I left the flat completely closed, another time I had a neighbout open all the windows on fine days, and this year I employed a cleaner to come in once a week to dust and run the fans  - but the result is always much the same, mold on the furniture and a lingering damp, musty smell. So far nothing has suffered any serious damage (I have heard  stories of people returning to find their furniture transformed into a pile of dust by white ants) but everything has to be taken out and inspected. The way different fabrics react to the high humidity seems to vary a lot. Some things smell fine after a few hours in the sun, while others definitely need a wash, and some really have to be disposed of.

I began to have some sympathy with the organisers of the Commonwealth Games when the late monsoon just refused to end. A dry, sunny morning would coax me into filling my balcony full of cushions, mats, bedding and racks of clothes then just as they were starting to freshen up a sudden downpour would make everything damper than before. Then  on top of that a plague of caterpillars arrived - falling out of the Banyan tree which shades my balcony. Once at ground level they they could move fast - up the walls, over the balustrades, onto the racks or airing clothes, and into my bedroom if I left the open doors unattended for a minute. They were little spotty, spiky, hairy things, and at first I found them quite sweet - almost cuddly - but then my Goan neighbour told me they were very dangerous. She told me that if touched they would cause swelling and itching, very badly, and should be avoided at all cost. She wanted me to spray them with isect killer, but I love butterflies and every dead caterpillar must mean one less butterfly, so I just swept them gently off the walls and onto the ground. Next day there were more than ever.

Now they are less and I have noticed some spinning thread and turning into crysalis - I am still trying to discover exactly what they will become when they emerge -  hopefully in a few months I will find out but in the meantime does anyone recognise this little fellow, and is he really as dangerous as he looks?