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The “woolly bear” is actually the freeze-tolerant final instar caterpillar of the common tiger moth Pyrrharctia isabella. These nondestructive caterpillars feed on corn, asters, birches, and sunflowers among other things.
What do I feed a wooly bear caterpillar?
Woolly bears prefer to eat low-growing, seed bearing plants that have leaves instead of blades. These plants include lambs quarters, violets, clovers, dandelions, nettles, burdock, yellow dock, curly dock and many native plants.
How do you keep a wooly bear caterpillar alive?
Since woolly bear caterpillars need to be in the cold to survive, keep the container somewhere outdoors. To feed your caterpillar, put plants, leaves, flowers, and grasses from the area where you found it into the container. Also, mist the inside of the container with water every day so your caterpillar stays hydrated.
What can I feed wooly worms?
Woolly caterpillars prefer to feed on lambs quarters, violets and clovers. They also eat dandelions, nettles, sunflower, burdock, yellow and curly docks, and most wild plants.
Can you touch a wooly bear caterpillar?
Woolly bear caterpillars lack stinging spines and do not bite. However, the hairs can easily break off into skin when touched, which will cause pain and irritation. The stiff “hairs” (setae) of woolly bears are probably effective defenses against many invertebrate and vertebrate predators.
Can you keep a wooly bear caterpillar as a pet?
Wooly bears can be taken in and raised as an insect pet over several months as they complete their life cycle. They are safe to handle and observe close up. A small tank with a lid (or a Tupperware™ or recycled cottage cheese container) with a few small air holes in the top is all that is needed.
How long does it take a woolly bear to turn into a moth?
Due to the harsh conditions in the Arctic Tundra, and the short growing season, it can take up to 14 years for the Arctic Woolly Bear Moth to grow from an egg into a moth. That is the longest life cycle of any moth or butterfly.
How long do woolly bears live?
The longest woolly bear caterpillar life cycle has been recorded as 14 years. However, after the caterpillar transforms, the adult lives only for one or two weeks, during which it mates and lays eggs.
Do wooly bears turn into moths?
In this case, the ubiquitous, rust-and-black-banded Wooly bear caterpillar turns into a lovely, less-common, caramel-colored, or cream , or yellow moth called the Isabella Tiger moth (Pyrrharctia Isabella).
What does it mean if a woolly bear is all black?
The longer the woolly bear’s black bands, the longer, colder, snowier, and more severe the winter will be. Similarly, the wider the middle brown band is associated with a milder upcoming winter. If the head end of the caterpillar is dark, the beginning of winter will be severe.
Do caterpillars need water?
Caterpillars do not need extra water. They get all the water they need from eating their host plants. Many caterpillars have a tendency to wander right before they pupate. An open environment is good if you only have a few caterpillars.
What do wooly bears become?
Woolly bear caterpillars turn into the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia Isabella). You can recognize these moths by their yellowy-orange coloration, black legs, and small black spots on wings and thorax.
Do caterpillars eat grass?
Upon hatching, the caterpillars remain in the ground, only coming above ground at night to feed. They only feed at ground level, cutting plants at their base, which gives rise to their name. They will eat weeds, seedlings and soft fruits such as strawberries, as well as grass.
How do you tell if a woolly bear caterpillar is a boy or girl?
They both have stiff, bristly hairs with a few longer, softer hairs sticking out. The only real discernible difference between them is that the male is generally around 2 inches long while the female is larger at 3 inches. Further identification is possible only through dissection.
Why is my woolly bear caterpillar curled up?
When they find that spot, they curl up in a tight ball and settle in for a long winter. Their bristle hairs are a deterrent to predators (although raccoons have been observed brushing the hairs off and then eating these insect delicacies). The spiky ball shape makes the caterpillars slippery to predators.
Can you pick up a wooly caterpillar?
Talk to your children and make sure they know that just because a caterpillar may look cute, furry, or fuzzy, they should not be picked up or touched. It’s okay to be curious and observe these eyespots creatures, but a good rule to remember is do not touch or pick up any caterpillars, especially fuzzy or hairy ones.
How long does it take for a woolly bear caterpillar to make a cocoon?
In the spring the hibernating caterpillars become active, eat for a few days and then each one will spin a silk cocoon from which an adult moth will emerge in about one month.
Are wooly caterpillars poisonous?
No, they are harmless except in rare cases when someone has an acute allergy to their hair. Some caterpillars have venom-filled hairs, which can be painful to humans, but woolly bears are as cute in your hand as they are on the ground.
Do wooly bears hibernate?
Woolly bear caterpillars look for a safe place to hibernate, in places such as leaf piles and under logs. As temperatures continue to fall, the woolly bear caterpillar’s metabolism begins to slow down. So long as winter conditions continue, the caterpillars hibernate and stay frozen like this.
Do wooly bears predict winter?
No, Woolly Bear Caterpillars cannot predict the severity of the upcoming winter, but their coloring can indicate the harshness of the previous winter.
