No doubt you’ve all heard the tale that you can predict the severity of the oncoming winter by observing the stripes of the wooly bear caterpillars. Is it just a myth, or is it true?
As the leaves turn to their fall colors, start checking the wooly bear’s bands of fuzz. The broader the black bands, they say, the colder will be the coming months. Since Colonial times, Americans gauged the bands as they stocked their larders and gathered fuel for the winter.
Scientists say the wooly bear caterpillar’s stripes are worthless predictors. There is no research to point out a connection between them and winter temperatures, but the fascination of the wooly bear weathermen endures. By the time real winter sets in next January they will be curled away, fast asleep, and nowhere to be found.
