The Real Story Behind Woolly Bear Caterpillars and Winter Weather

When I was a kid I remember seeing a caterpillar crawling along on a tree and an adult I was with told me that it looked like we were going to have a bad Winter because the caterpillar was so furry.

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At the time that made a lot of sense to me, if it's gonna be really cold and snowy the caterpillar is going to need to be as furry as possible to stay warm.

Fast forward to present day and I recently heard someone say that caterpillars fur had nothing to do with how bad the upcoming Winter was going to be.

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Believing this to be true my entire life I had to correct them and tell them they were wrong.

They told me if I didn't believe it to look it up for myself and that's what I did.

Can Caterpillars Predict How Bad The Coming Winter Will Be

Turns out that I was lied to as a kid, I'm not sure if that person was just messing with me or if it was an old wives' tale that was told to them and then passed on to me.

Caterpillars, specifically woolly bear caterpillars, are believed to predict the severity of the upcoming Winter based on the color patterns on their bodies.

Wider black bands supposedly indicate harsher winters, while wider brown bands suggest milder ones.

Turns out the color bands on woolly bear caterpillars actually reflect their age, species, and the conditions of the previous growing season rather than future weather.

Their banding changes as they molt and grow, and variations are related to their feeding and development, not upcoming winter severity.

I'm glad I learned the truth, but I kind of liked the old Winter weather folklore I was told as a kid.