Close Encounter with Automeris IO Moth Caterpillar?

This afternoon while waiting for my doggie, Taco, to "take care of his business" I decided to pluck a few bromeliad type plants to propogate a few more.  I managed to get two or three planted without any problems.  When I reached to grab one last piece to transplant I immediately felt a very strong, nasty stinging sensation on top of my left hand.  I searched the plant and quickly discovered a brightly colored large caterpillar.  The critter (seen attached photo of the culprit) was definitely very pretty, but I knew it was also very deadly!  One of my fears of Costa Rica had come true.  I had been careful thus far to avoid the multitude of scorpions, spiders, and other unknown insects successfully, but today my luck came to an end.

Several months ago I had read about the beautiful, but toxic caterpillars of Costa Rica.  I had promised myself that I would carefully avoid any encounters with these beautiful critters at all cost.  I had read about how caterpillar stings could easily disable a person for one or two days....much worse damage than any old nasty scorpion bite.

Immediately after being bitten I headed back to the house to scour the Internet for advice on how to minimize the effects of the toxins.  The first thing I did was grab a few pieces of tape to apply repeatedly over the area that had been stung.  Supposedly, this would help remove the stingers.  Next, I washed the area with soap and water.  I then headed for the freezer for an ice pack that was applied for 20 minutes or so.   The last step was to make a paste of baking soda and water and liberally apply over the area.

Fortunately, I survived the sting, however, a large vase we had purchased a couple of years ago became collateral damage of my close encounter with nature.  My hubby had been cleaning floors and had moved the vase near the front door while I was outside getting stung.  As I hurriedly opened the front door to seek relief from my potential fatal wound, the vase fell over and broke into a hundred pieces.

At least I have survived and lived to fell about my first war wound with one of Mother Nature's beautiful, but deadly Costa Rican creatures.