woolly worm caterpillar wooly bear

by Heidi Stonehill

June 11, 2009

It's time again to shine the spotlight on a certain caterpillar. The larva of the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella), this fuzzy fellow is called the banded woolly bear, or woolly worm.

He is often black with a rust-colored band in the middle, although he might be almost all black or all rust.

Folklore says that if the rusty band is wide, then it will be a mild winter. The more black there is, the more severe the winter. Read more about this weather lore.

For more woolly worm fun, check out the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, North Carolina. At this annual October event, woolly worms race up to the top of their 3-foot-long strings, accompanied by thousands of cheers. The bands of the winner predict the coming winter.

Have you seen a woolly worm in your area? What did it look like? Feel free to share your experience.

Heidi Stonehill, our Senior Editor, joined the team in 2001. She enjoys the natural sciences, gardening, music, art, poetry, and animals—especially her fuzzy feline, Tig.

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Comments

I saw one a couple of weeks

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By Michael Dancer

I saw one a couple of weeks ago and it had a big brown band! I'm ready for another mild winter. I live in central Michigan.

Far north central Wisconsin,

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By dlhnorth2@gmail.com

Far north central Wisconsin, the only wooly bear I saw was all black. They have been rare up here in the last 5 years. Because of drought?

I live in PA and the wooly

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By 1937redhead

I live in PA and the wooly bears have a small black band in front and back the middle is brown and larger than the black ....MILD winter? I always have faith in them. I am 72 years old so I know these wooly creatures a long time.

I live in Western West

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By Carla Mceldowney

I live in Western West Virginia and every wooly worm I've seen are completely black.

I'm from delmar on the

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By Lora Parker

I'm from delmar on the eastern shore of maryland, and the most I have seen have been mostly rust with little black and white ones.

Here on Eastern Shore of

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By hevyn

Here on Eastern Shore of Maryland we are loaded with them! For what it's worth, right now they are mostly rust colored. It's been quite warm, no frost yet.