Woolly Bear by ShadowsNTime
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Description
I was weeding the front color spots when I pulled this weed and when I tossed it on the pile it turned underside up revealing this guy. At first I thought it was dead or dying but then it turned into a ball when I touched it. I have to admit that most of my life I thought this turned into a butterfly, but not so.
Woolly Bear Caterpillar Isia isabella
Family: Arctiidae, Tiger Moths
The woolly bear caterpillar (also known as the "banded woolly bear"), a brown and black caterpillar moth, grows to 2 1/8 inches. The bristles are stiff, with a broad band of reddish-brown bristles around the middle. It's found everywhere in North America except Canada.
Caterpillar feeds on low herbaceous plants of many kinds, mostly wild; it seldom attacks crops or ornamentals.Familiar since Colonial times as the "Woolly Bear," the caterpillar is often seen crossing roads and paths on warm days in late fall. According to superstition, the amount of black in the caterpillar's bristle coating forecasts the severity of the coming winter. Actually, the coloration indicates how near the caterpillar is to full growth before autumn weather stimulates it to seek a winter shelter.
The moth; Wingspan 1 5/8-2" (40-50 mm). Fore wings yellow-brown with a series or row of small black dots. Hind wings slightly paler, slightly pinkish with several indistinct gray dots. Abdomen has 3 black spots above on rear edge of each segment. Flight June-August in the North, February-November in the South.Habitat Meadows, pastures, uncultivated fields, and road edges.
I have watched insects and animals behavior all my life and I believe that its a better forecaster than weather technology:-) Noting that this week I watched the squirrels beginning to bury thier food, cats and dogs coats beginning to thicken, Canadian geese flying V formation to the south and the fly species beginning to disappear, also field mice moving into the house. To me that represents an early winter, longer than usual. However that said, I lived in Washington state then and so it could be different here... Thanks for looking and for previous comments!
Comments (20)
Eldeago
lol what you see when you have a camera in your hand lol nice capture.
DarkStormCrow
Excellent capture, nicely done..
Digitaleagle
Awesome, looks like a miniature porcupine, thanks for the information!!!
kasalin
Outstanding macro capture !! Beautiful work !!! :)
emmecielle
Beautiful macro! :)
busi2ness
I love the facts about weather predictions. We have an array of the same here. Very interesting caterpillar well captured. You did not mention anything about the hair/bristles stinging and being poisonous like some of the ones I know.
virginiese
cute caterpillar. I love the details of the hairs in your macro ! Great picture Lynn !
carinatiefenthaler
Nice litte caterpillar! Great photo!
B_PEACOCK
Nice shot but after living in the south were ones like that sting the crap out of you I do not touch them LOL
timtripp
great shot!
cherokee1961
He really DOES look like a little porcupine!
tetsu-pino
Excellent capture!!!
ShadowsNTime
that's just weird!!! fuzzy, was he??
hydroCat
CUTE!!! I saved one of these when i was nine, and it turned into a moth and that spring i let it go! I was so happy it didn't die, and was happier when it flew away. I was kinda sad though, his name was Talon... funny name i know, and i shouldn't have named him, but still... ('Talon' cuz he was tough, and didn't take anything from my cat!) lol... great job and can't wait to see more!!! :)
durleybeachbum
Amazingly like a little hedgehog! What a find, and great info as usual!
mickuk50
wow were
nt you lucky to spot this .i was only just saying to andrea that ive searched high and low for caterpillars this year and not found one,which is very unusual .excellent capture and info lynn :o) mickPD154
Looks like this wee fello will develope into a lovely butty :)...Nice one Lynn!
Richardphotos
excellent capture and very informative info Lynne
GBCalls
I enjoyed seeing these woolly buggers ahead of the posts. Excellent captures. It is very similar to the Hairy caterpillar I found. I expect to find a few like yours soon around here. Great work!
lizzibell
great shot...