6/12/24 Photo of the Day - The Hibernating Woolly Bear Awakens - Isabella Tiger Moth

 

12 June 2024 - 

Isabella Tiger Moth sighted this morning—beautiful (and fleeting)! This moth will only be around sipping nectar and searching for others by night for about 1-2 weeks before it proceeds to mate and die. The eggs this species lays will hatch into a caterpillar you might find familiar: the woolly bear!!

Woolly bear caterpillars are named for their overwintering ability—there are two generations of fuzzy larvae every year, one born in late spring and the other in late summer. Woolly bears that hatch in late summer grow to their full 2-inch length before winter hits, then proceed to hibernate through the cold months before undergoing metamorphosis. The woolly bear caterpillar also has implications for human overwintering: the width of the red band is said to predict the harshness of the winter. A thicker red band indicates a milder winter while a thinner stripe warns of a more severe season coming. While this folklore may not always prove to be true, the length of the band is determined in part by individual genetics and age along with climatic factors such as wetter weather. There are a number of plants these caterpillars will feed on here at Ordway (they aren’t particularly picky) so keep an eye out for Woolly bears munching leaves if you visit in the fall!

- ks 🐛

Want to learn more? Cheek out these articles and sites:

Cold-hardening during long-term acclimation in a freeze-tolerant woolly bear caterpillar, Pyrrharctia isabella

Wild and Sometimes Woolly - MN DNR Young Naturalists Article

Nature Conservancy Wings Water Wetlands Invertebrates Banded Woollybear (Isabella Tiger Moth larva) 

NC State Extension Factsheet (and caterpillar photo source)

Annual Woolly Worm Festival in North Carolina