The Woolly Bear Report

After three seasons (Spring, Summer and Fall) of unusual weather I decided to check with some widely accepted consultants on forecasting the coming Winter, the Woolly Bear Caterpillars.

The Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella) is the larval form of the Isabella Tiger Moth and some people believe the Woolly Bear can predict the Winter weather by the size of the black bands on its body. The more black bands, the worse the winter will be.

While a good share of the Woolly Bears I consulted had 5 to 6 black bands with 5 or 6 brown bands (~50% black), more than half of the Woolly Bears had a greater amount of brown.









This one had mixed black/brown at the head, 2 black bands, 6 brown bands and then a black band.



This one had 60% brown in the middle.



This one was ~75% brown with black on the head end and no black on the other end.



This one was brown on both ends with very little black in the middle. It was ~80% brown.


We will see if these weather consultants are correct predictors of this Winter but in reality the size of the color bands are more reflective of the Woolly Bears previous weather and food supply.