Again, this is weather folklore and used for fun each year. For one, they can have different colored patterns on their coats based on their age and diet. If the woolly bear moves north, then it is likely to experience mild winter. Basically, it states that if it’s crawling in a southerly direction, then it’s trying to escape winter’s cold from the north. It has been said that this correlates to the 13 weeks of winter. A Woolly Bear Caterpillar's coloration, and how it takes shape, has nothing to do with the weather. Another version deals with the woolly caterpillar’s direction of travel. Unlike Monarch caterpillars, Woolly bears eat a wide variety of plants including dandelions, nettles, tree leaves and other foliage. Curran, curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, took a trip to Bear Mountain State Park to look at the woolly bear caterpillars. The woolly bear caterpillar has 13 segments to its body. Most scientists think the size of the bands probably has more to do with the age of the caterpillar and what they ate during the summer. But a caterpillar with more black than brown indicates a cold winter ahead. The Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Pyrrharctia Isabella) is normally associated with an approaching winter as it is often seen walking around the ground at the. to southern Canada, next spring each caterpillar will spin a fuzzy cocoon and emerge as an adult Isabella Tiger moth ( Pyrrharctia isabella).Īccording to legend, Woolly Bear caterpillars can predict the weather! Folklore says if you see a wide orange/brown band in between the two black bands it means the upcoming winter will be mild. Amazingly, Woolly bears can survive temperatures down to -90° F!įound in northern Mexico all the way up through the U.S. To protect their organs from freezing their bodies produce a type of antifreeze. They'll overwinter as caterpillars, also called larva, hibernating in leaf litter, under bark, logs or rocks. In September and October in North American, youll see the fuzzy wuzzy banded woolly bear caterpillars that grow into the yellow Isabella Tiger Moth.
But it's time to settle down in a protected place. The Wooly bears you see now hatched from eggs this year and have been eating all summer. These bristly black and orange or brown banded caterpillars are on the move to find a perfect place to spend the winter months. We've been seeing lots of Woolly bears lately hurrying across the trails around the nature center.
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