Woolly Bear Caterpillar
| More Lepidoptera Information Caterpillar Pictures Moth Pictures Butterfly Pictures |
Woolly Bear caterpillars, or Woolly Worm caterpillars, are the fuzzy caterpillars that are brown or orange color in the middle with black ends.
They are among the most recognizable and famous of all the caterpillars. In fact they are legendary.
A popular myth about Woolly Bears deals with their ability to predict the severity of upcoming winters. Legend has it that Woolly Bears with a larger number of brown bands in the middle were harbingers of an upcoming warmer winter. A smaller number of brown bands foretold a more sever winter.
The woolly bear in the picture is the caterpillar form of the Ranchman's Tiger Moth. Notice that it displays the opposite characteristics of other Wooly Bears, with black segements in the middle surrounded by brown segments at the ends.
© 2007. Patricia A. Michaels.