Wolly Bear Caterpillar

Miscellaneous Insects Types of Insects Banana Slug Caddisfly Carpenter Ant Cicada Cinnebar Caterpillar Cricket Dobsonfly Earthworm Grasshopper Ladybug Praying Mantid Yellow-spotted Millipede

Wooly Bear caterpillars or Wooly Worm caterpillars are the fuzzy caterpillars that are brown or orangish 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 Wooly Bears deals with their ability to predict the severity of upcoming winters. Legend has it that Wooly 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 wolly 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. It has black segements in the middle surrounded by brown segments at the ends.

© 2007. Patricia A. Michaels.