Here is a common question this time of year. There is an old folklore about caterpillars. What does the coloring of a woolly bear mean? I have seen some where they are mostly brown. Does this mean a hard and snowy winter in the East?
Next to Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous weather prognosticators in the animal kingdom are the lowly caterpillars. Legend has it that the color and thickness of a caterpillar is a determinant of the upcoming winter. Here is how it goes:
The woolly bear caterpillar tells if it is a bad winter if there are a lot of them crawling around, if he has a heavy coat and if the black band on his back is wide. The more black than brown he is or the wider the black stripe, the worse the winter. A narrow orange band in the middle of the caterpillar warns of heavy snow. If this guy is fat and fuzzy, it means presage bitter cold.
If you want to be your own weather forecaster, he are 10 signs of a rough winter:
Very thick onion skins or corn husks.
Woodpeckers sharing a tree
Early arrival of crickets on the hearth
Spiders spinning larger webs
Lots and lots of acorns
Raccoons have thick tails
Squirrels gather nuts early in the year
Pigs gather sticks
Frequent halos around the sun or moon
Heavy and numerous fogs in August
There are many other things to observe. If you see any, pass them along.
- Peter Geiger
- #molongui-disabled-link
- September 18, 2015
- Winter Weather Lore and Wasps’ Nests
- Peter Geiger
- #molongui-disabled-link
- July 6, 2015
- Deer Me! 5 Tips For Repelling Deer
- Peter Geiger
- #molongui-disabled-link
- June 26, 2015
- The Surviving Snow Pile in Boston
- Peter Geiger
- #molongui-disabled-link
- May 24, 2015
- The Event That Put Lewiston, Maine On The Map
