HOUSTON – It’s springtime in Houston, which means we are dealing with allergies and rainy weather and constantly seeing insects and bugs all over our homes, patios and sidewalks.
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If you’ve ventured outside at any point this season, you may have seen a rather large fuzzy black caterpillar, also known as a woolly bear caterpillar, swarming around.
What is a woolly bear caterpillar?
A woolly bear, also known as fuzzy wuzzies and woolly worms, is a species of caterpillar covered in hair or setae.
Woolly bear is a term used for several species of caterpillars that are densely covered in hair, or setae.
Two types of woolly bear caterpillars that can be found in Texas are the saltmarsh caterpillar and the garden tiger moth caterpillar. The saltmarsh caterpillar can vary in color from black to brown to yellowish, whereas the garden tiger moth caterpillar has a black top and a brown bottom that is covered in fuzz.
Are wolly bear caterpillars poisonous?
If you’re anything like me, when you spotted these caterpillars you immediately thought to yourself, ‘Get far away. Don’t touch.’ Because, at least speaking from personal experience, we have always been told these little caterpillars could sting or were poisonous.
Although wolly bears come in different colors, yellow, brown and black, neither one of them is poisonous or stings.
Can they really predict winter?
I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard the myth that woollybear caterpillars are supposed to predict the severity of the winter, but, according to scientists and several studies, they do not.
Some believe that the brown band on the caterpillars versus the black will say how severe that winter will be. The larger the band, the more severe the winter. No relationship has been found between woolly bear prickle patterns and the severity of oncoming weather.
Although their complexions have nothing to do with predicting the weather, they do have meaning. Woolly bear caterpillars shed their exoskeletons six times before becoming moths. Each time they molt, they become more rusty in color and less black. This means that the youngest caterpillars are usually all black, while more colorful caterpillars are the older individuals. Additionally, there may be connections between a woolly bear’s appearance and the climate. Color patterns could indicate when a caterpillar last molted, which could potentially reflect weather and temperature trends. Caterpillars with more black coloration would theoretically absorb more sunshine.