We grew up looking for the “woolly bears” in November on the way to school. And it wasn’t to step on them. Really. They are predictors of the future.
You see … the caterpillars emerge from eggs during the warm summer months. Just as it’s getting cold in 4-5 months they mature and search for overwintering havens commonly under bark, rocks, or logs. This is why you see so many of them on the move in November.
So here’s the legend
The amount of black on the caterpillar will predict how cold and how long the upcoming winter will be.
Here’s how it works
The caterpillar’s body is made up of 13 segments that are either rusty brown or black in color. The 13 segments represent the number of weeks in our winter. So you can count the segments that are black and they will represent the number of cold winter weeks. The blacker the caterpillar also supposedly means that the winter will be colder. The browner the caterpillar supposedly means that the winter will be milder.
What does this woolly tell us for 2024-2025 winter?
The photo is from a woolly I saw this week, counting the rings I get 8 black and 5 brown. That is a lot of brown and it’s pretty long, so I’d say it looks like a pretty mild and short winter this year if you believe the legend.
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