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Woolly Bear Caterpillar

Pyrrharctia isabella

Photo by Cheryl Lee
Published on Project Noah
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42.0076, -72.9707

Field Notes

Description:

"The banded Woolly Bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, when it literally freezes solid. First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body. It survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues. In the spring it thaws out and emerges to pupate."

Notes:

Commonly believed in folklore to forecast the weather ~ I thought this particular stripe pattern was unusual and rather fitting with the unpredictable weather we've been experiencing this last winter and spring.

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