The woolly bear caterpillar is a weather prophet in a fur coat. It is black except for a reddish-brown band across its middle. Legend has it that the wider the middle band, the less severe the forthcoming winter. A narrow band predicts a longer, colder and snowier winter to come.
The myth seems to have originated in the distant past when weather forecasting was based on observing any hints from nature about the severity of the approaching winter. People were looking for any clue that would reveal what to expect during the colder months of the year.
Folklore has gone so far as to suggest that the 13 segments of the caterpillar represent the 13 weeks of winter. Also, according to the myth, more black toward the front of the caterpillar means that the start of the winter will be the harshest, and if more black is on the tail end, the last part of winter will be the worse.
Here’s what John Weaver, state entomologist, says about such folklore: “It is a lot of fun, but it has no scientific credibility.” He added, “People seem to have a basic desire to know what the weather has in store for them. This folklore about the woolly bear caterpillar gives people the satisfaction that they can gain some inside information about what they have no control over.”
So the myth lives on. The woolly bear caterpillar has claimed a spot alongside of the groundhog and his shadow as a weather prognosticator.
In the fall the woolly bear caterpillar can be seen crossing the sidewalk in an urgent gallop, hurrying to find a place to hide before the first snow. It will hibernate during the winter, surviving freezing temperatures with its internal natural antifreeze. In the spring it will spin a crude cocoon made of the stiff hairs of its body bound together by silk. From this stage will emerge the Isabella Tiger moth, which has a 2-inch yellow and orange wing span. (Where else in nature will a bear become a tiger?)
The woolly bear caterpillar also has a habit of curling up into a ball and remaining motionless when it is disturbed or encounters danger. In some cultures this behavior has metamorphosed the word “caterpillar” from a noun into a verb, as in, “He caterpillared when he was given a difficult assignment.”
The cute and fuzzy woolly bear caterpillar has become a permanent fixture in American folklore and has expanded the use of the word “caterpillar.” Even after reading the daily weather report, we will still look to the woolly bear as a mini-meteorologist, just for the fun of it. But we must not caterpillar into inactivity when the first snow flies.
