Woolly bears

We get a lot of woolly bears (also known as woolly bugs) every fall.

Lulu captured two of them in a glass jar with some leaves to see if they would spin a cocoon.

I looked up their lifecycle and it's pretty amazing plus, there is a major local tie-in. From the Wikipedia entry for Pyrrharctia isabella:

The Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella) can be found in many cold regions, including the Arctic. The banded Woolly Bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, when it literally freezes solid. First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body. It survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues. In the spring it thaws out and emerges to pupate. Once it emerges from its pupa as a moth it has only days to find a mate.

In most temperate climates, caterpillars become moths within months of hatching, but in the Arctic the summer period for vegetative growth - and hence feeding - is so short that the Woolly Bear must feed for several summers, freezing again each winter before finally pupating. Some are known to live through as many as 14 winters.

Some more:

Appearance
The larva is black at both ends, with or without a band of coppery red in the middle. The adult moth is dull yellow to orange with a robust, furry thorax and small head. Its wings have sparse black spotting and the proximal segments on its first pair of legs are bright reddish-orange.

The setae of the Woolly Bear caterpillar do not inject venom and are not urticant - they do not typically cause irritation, injury, inflammation, or swelling. Handling them is discouraged, however, as the bristles may cause dermatitis in people with sensitive skin. Their main defense mechanism is playing dead if picked up or disturbed.

Diet
This species is a generalist feeder - it feeds on many different species of plants, especially herbs and forbs.

Self-medication
Recent research has shown that the larvae of a related moth Grammia incorrupta (whose larvae are also called woollybears) consume alkaloid-laden leaves that help fight off internal parasitic fly larvae. This phenomenon is said to be "the first clear demonstration of self-medication among insects".

And the local connection:

The name of the town of Sedro-Woolley, Washington State, is believed to derive from the Woolly Bear. The town is the result of the union of Sedro and Woolley Bug, and that Woolley Bug referred to a plethora of P. isabella larvae when the town was first built.

Sedro-Woolley is about 35 miles due South of here on the banks of the Skagit River. Here are the critters in question:

20131004-Pyrrharctia_isabella_caterpillar.JPG

20131004-Pyrrharctia_isabella_moth.JPG

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This page contains a single entry by DaveH published on October 4, 2013 4:04 PM.

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