Look Out, Kentucky, We’ve Spotted a Jet Black Woolly Worm
I actually saw my first woolly worm of 2024 way back in May. At the time, I looked into what, if anything, it means about our weather if you see one in spring. I found nothing. In other words, "It means you saw a woolly worm in spring. Next?"
I had never seen one that early in the year, but no matter; the ones that "predict" the weather for the upcoming winter start appearing in August. And those are usually brown woolly worms, or woolly bear caterpillars. So...let's review...what do the different colors on these creatures mean regarding weather prediction.
Well, there are really two colors of concern, and they are black and brown. Woolly worm forecast expert Judy Fraser weighed in with a team from WCIA-Champaign back in 2020, but since we're talking folklore, I'm sure it applies today. Skip through to about 1:25 to get to the meat of the matter:
That was a pretty dark woolly worm they were considering, but it wasn't as dark as this one:
That was spotted in Daviess County Friday, and I don't see a lick of brown on that thing. That always means a harsh winter is headed our way. Here's hoping this little guy is wrong. Of course, there's always a solution to your concerns, and it comes in the form of the National Weather Service:
The woolly bear caterpillar's coloring is based on how long caterpillar has been feeding, its age, and species. The better the growing season is the bigger it will grow. This results in narrower red-orange bands in its middle. Thus, the width of the banding is an indicator of the current or past season's growth rather than an indicator of the severity of the upcoming winter.
Hmm...an indicator of the PAST, not the future. Okay, I'm sold. I'm going with the National Weather Service.
See how easy that was?
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