Five Forks Mountain Community in Murphy North Carolina

Articles (Blog)

Wooly worm

Posted on October 12, 2020 8:00 AM by Gerry Trout

Have you ever heard that tale about the wooly worm predicting a cold or mild winter? Well, we were walking the loop the other day and saw this wooly worm. Seek identified it as Isabella Tiger Moth. So, of course, I took a picture, thinking: That's interesting, I could write a blog about that.

I came home and looked it up on Wikipedia, and this is what I found!!!

I learned that the Isabella is the most common Tiger Moth in North America. And that the legend of the weather predictor is just that...a legend. It says that if there is more black than brown it will be a harsh winter. And if there is more brown than black, the winter will be mild. Sounds like a groundhog story.

Anyway, this looks like more brown than black, verifying other predictors of this coming winter. Let me see if I can find a picture of an Isabella Tiger Moth adult.....Be right back.