Woolly Bears

How did we ever get by without our dear friend, Google?  Almost any possible fact or collection of information at your fingertips!  Very few times have I come up empty handed when googling a topic.

So, here's the latest query:  What does a woolly bear caterpillar turn into?  We came across one in our travels yesterday when we stopped at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, which led to the question.



Wiki has this to say:

The common moth Pyrrharctia isabella is known by different common names at its two main life stages. The adult is the Isabella tiger moth and the larva is called the banded woolly bear. The larvae of many species of Arctiidae Arctiid moths are called "woolly bears" because of their long, thick, furlike setae (they are mostly spotted all black than they are as seen below). This species is black at both ends with a band of coppery red in the middle. The adult moth is dull yellow to orange with a robust, furry thorax and small head. Its wings have sparse black spotting and the proximal segments on its first pair of legs are bright reddish-orange.

The banded woolly bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and over winter it is in its caterpillar form. It survives winter freezes by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues. Once the weather warms, the larva devours all the grass and weeds it can, pupates, and becomes an adult, which then lives through the summer. It is the larvae of this species which are the subject of common folklore, which has it that the forthcoming severity of a winter can be predicted by the amount of black on the caterpillar; this is the most familiar woolly bear in North America. But in fact, larvae produced in the same clutch of eggs can vary from mostly red to mostly black, even when reared under the same conditions, and this variability invalidates any actual temperature-related trends that may otherwise be evident. In fact, the orange band will grow towards the ends of the body, with the black bands decreasing in size, as the larva matures.

So, now we know!  Thank you, Google!