If there is a lot of brown, the winter will be mild If there is only a narrow strip of brown on their backs, expect a harsh winter. The old tale goes like this: the thickness of the brown stripe on the caterpillar will tell you how harsh the upcoming winter will be. That's all there is they just want to sleep for the winter in a dark, sheltered spot.īy springtime, the caterpillar forms a cocoon, and a few weeks later becomes an Isabella tiger moth, which is active at night throughout the summer.One of the most widespread tales pertains to the big furry coat of the woolly bear caterpillar. Lastly, the caterpillar travels north, south, east or west in search of a place to curl up and hibernate for the winter. The woolly caterpillar’s coat helps it survive the winter, living through temperatures as low as -90 degrees! As a result, we may see many different color and hair variations each fall that would alter the folklore’s forecast. So, the coloring and size of the woolly worm tell us about the past, not the future.Ĭaterpillars shed their skins several times before reaching adult size, and their colors change with their age, too. The width of the banding is an indicator of the current or past season’s growth. The better the preceding growing season, the bigger the woolly worm will grow. In North America, there are over 200 species. The caterpillar’s coloring is thought to be based on its age, how long it’s been feeding and its species. The caterpillar can’t predict what Old Man Winter has in store for the upcoming winter season. As much fun as it is to search for the woolly worm each fall, don’t put your bets on it.
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