KENTUCKY ( FOX 56 ) — The woolly bear caterpillar has been the center of an old wives tale for predicting the weather for centuries.
According to the Old Farmers Almanac , the larvae of the Isabella tiger moth, known regionally as the woolly worm, emerge from June to September each year, covered with short and stiff hairy bristles. Typically the bristled bands at the ends of the caterpillar range from black to orange or brown.
It’s their distinct bands that characterize the little weather prophets.
According to the legend, the browner the caterpillar, the milder the winter. The more black markings, the harsher winter is on its way.
History of the Woolly Worm
In 1948, Dr. C.H. Curran, curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, put the fable to the test. He collected as many woolly worms as he could to determine a trend in their markings.
He continued this study over the next eight years.
Curran’s average brown segment counts ranged from 5.3 to 5.6 out of the 13-segment total, meaning that the brown band took up more than a third of the woolly worm’s body.