I saw a woolly caterpillar the other day too, and was surprised at the thinness of the orange band...but couldn’t remember what it meant...thanks for the reminder.
Tell me if you see one trying to fly south.
Woolly Bear Caterpillar...
Most people in the
Midwest or New
England have heard at one
time or another that if you
want a forecast for the
upcoming winter, you should
just look for a woolly bear
(black at both ends and a
reddish brown or rust
colored in the middle) or
fuzzy bear caterpillar. This
same caterpillar is called the
woolly worm in southern
United States. They are
often found in the autumn
after they have left their
food plants (variety of
grasses and weeds including
plantain, dandelion, and
A Winter Predictor or Not?
end of the caterpillar is dark, the
beginning of winter will be severe.
If the tail end is dark, the end of
winter will be cold. In addition,
the woolly bear caterpillar has 13
segments to its body, which
traditional forecasters say correspond
to the 13 weeks of winter.
As with most folklore, there are
two other versions to this story.
The first one says that the woolly
bear caterpillar’s coat will indicate
the upcoming winter’s severity.
So, if its coat is very woolly, it will
be a cold winter. The final version
deals with the woolly bear
caterpillar’s direction of travel. It
is said that woolly bear’s crawling
in a southerly direction are
trying to escape the cold
winter conditions of the
north. On the other hand,
woolly bear’s crawling on a
northward path would
indicate a mild winter.
The popularity of the woolly
bear caterpillar has resulted
in several festivals honoring
them. In Vermilion, Ohio
(east of Cleveland), the
residents hold the annual
“Woolly Bear Festival.” It is
claimed to be the largest
one-day festival in Ohio.
Festivities include a parade,
woolly bear races, and an
“official” analysis of the woolly
bears and forecast for the coming
winter. Also, every 3rd weekend in
October the annual Woolly Worm
Festival is held in Banner Elk,
North Carolina.
The Woolly Bear (Pyrrharctia isabella) Caterpillar is
found across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
USDA photo
nettles) in search of a dark and
sheltered spot where they can
hibernate as larvae for the winter.
According to folklore, the amount
of black on the woolly bear in
autumn varies proportionately
with the severity of the coming
winter in the locality where the
caterpillar is found. The longer
the woolly bear’s black bands, the
longer, colder, snowier, and more
severe the winter will be. Similarly,
the wider middle brown band
is associated with a milder upcoming
winter. The position of the
longest dark bands supposedly
indicates which part of winter will
be coldest or hardest.
Now if the darn thing would just predict my NASCAR driver finishes.