October's Record of the Month!
October’s Record of the Month is an observation of a Woolly Bear Caterpillar by skiman1016.
Can Woolly Bears predict the severity of winter? Probably not. The width of the brown band is more likely an indication of how long the previous winter was. Regardless of their weather prognostication ability, the appearance of Woolly Bears in the fall is a delight to many nature lovers. Soon these larvae of the Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella) will find a place to overwinter on the forest floor (they freeze solid!). The following year they will pupate and become adults, at which time they only have days to find a mate before they die. Observations of adults from iNaturalist will help biologists learn more about how climatic conditions affect the timing of adult emergence, so keep an eye out for them next year!
You can view October’s Record of the Month at:
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2340002
Comments
I have seen NO woolly bears of any sort in Vermont this year (predicting either type of winter)... perhaps they have some sort of boom and bust ecology, two years there were a ton of them. Any observations in Ohio/NY as to their abundance this year?
Seemed on the low side of average to me
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