Woolly bear caterpillar

Photo from www.cirrusimage.comWhat an aptly named caterpillar! I saw one on the Canon City Riverwalk trail. It was getting dark so I didn't get a photo of it. I did stop to move it off the trail so it didn't get run over as there were still a few bicycle riders on the trail. Sadly, I found it the next morning--it had crawled back onto the trail and had been run over.

According to the website where this photo comes from, www.cirrusimage.com, "There is an old superstition one can predict the severity of the upcoming winter by the amount of black banding these caterpillars show in autumn. There is still a fair amount of controversy surrounding this "myth." Scientists say that the black portion changes gradually to reddish-brown as the caterpillar matures; others say the forecast can be about 80% accurate." Here is the link to the Farmer's Almanac page about this debate. SeEtta