 Woolly Wonder - Woolly Bear
Woolly Bear caterpillar.
I always look for Woolly Bear caterpillars during the late fall, when they are most likely to be seen as they cross roads and trails in search of a suitable overwintering spot. Since childhood I've picked them up off roads, feeling the bristly hairs tickle my palm as they curl into a tight ball to protect their underside, and gently set them down, still tightly curled, on the traveling-toward side in hopes that I'd saved them from car tires or a hungry predator. One has to have patience, stillness, and not cast a shadow to see them slowly uncurl and continue on their journey.
Interesting Facts
- Know as the Woolly Bear, Banded Woolybear, Black-ended Bear, and Woolly Worm, though it is not a worm or a bear! And the "wool" is really bristly hairs.
- Woolly Bears are the larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella).
- Woolly Bears overwinter as caterpillars.
- Folklore has it that the Woolly Bears' bands of black and reddish brown foretell the length and severity of the coming weather by their thickness. If the middle band of rusty red-brown is long, it is said that a mild winter is expected and the longer the black bands the longer the winter it will be. Though this is a fun prediction game to play, and it has been said that in 1948 Dr. Howard Curran, Curator of Entomology at the American Museum of Natural History, used the folklore as a media stunt, the Woolly Bear stripes actually change as the caterpillar grows and molts throughout it's larval stage. The better growth it has had, the more narrow the middle rusty band will be.
- The folks of Vermilion, Ohio hold a Woollybear festival each year.
Activities for Children and the Young at Heart
- Visit ButterfliesAndMoths.org to see photos of the adult Isabella Tiger Moth as well as lots of the larval Woolly Bear.
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BugGuide.net is another great website to visit for photos and information.
- With the recent snow it is getting late to see the Woolly Bears on the move, but keep a lookout on warm-snap days in these last days before Winter begins. And, make a plan to look for the caterpillars again in early springtime when they emerge and feed before forming a cocoon in which they pupate into an adult. It will need to feed before it pupates so look for what it eats: asters, clovers, dandelions, nettles and violets.
- Learn about Dr. Howard C. Curran at the American Museum of Natural History. Do they mention Woolly Bears in his biographical information. Why or why not?
- Plan your own Woolly Bear Festival. Have Fun!
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