Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson LXXII · Topic 9: Butterflies and moths
72. The woolly bear
Goal: Your child can describe the woolly bear caterpillar, tell what it is hurrying to do in the fall, and know that it becomes the Isabella tiger moth.
You'll need
- A woolly bear caterpillar (common on roads and paths in fall)
- A box or jar with grass or clover (for a short stay)
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
Comstock's story of the woolly bear, with Christina Rossetti's poem: why it hurries in autumn, how it rolls up, sleeps through winter, spins a cocoon of its own hairs in spring, and comes out a yellowish moth. Then Lesson LXXII with questions on the caterpillar, the cocoon and the moth.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
September and October, when woolly bears hurry across roads, paths and driveways in the sun. Comstock's method: "Have the children bring in woolly bears as they find them" and keep them on grass or clover.
Safety first
The woolly bear is safe to hold, though its bristles make some people's skin itch, so wash hands afterward. Don't pick up other fuzzy or spiny caterpillars you don't know: a few kinds sting. Keep a woolly bear for a day or two at most, then let it go where you found it, so it can find its own winter hiding place.
Keep the big idea in mind
Comstock's "leading thought" is the one idea the lesson is meant to lead to. Read it to yourself now, and save it to share at the end, after your child has looked and answered:
When we see the woolly bear hurrying along in the fall, it is hunting for some cozy place in which to pass the winter. It makes its cocoon of silk woven with its own hair. In May, it comes forth a yellowish moth with black dots on its wings.
Count the bands
How can you tell the woolly bear from all other caterpillars? Are they all colored alike? How many segments of the body are black at the front end? How many are red? How many segments are black at the rear end of the body?
If you find more than one, compare them: are the bands the same?
Up close
Use the hand lens.
Look closely at the hairs of the woolly bear. Are they set separately or in rosettes?
Can you see little openings along each side of all the segments of the body, except the second and third? What are they?
Those little holes are where it breathes.
Hurrying and rolling up
Put it down on a path and watch.
When the woolly bear is hurrying along, does it lift its head and the front end of its body now and then? Why does it do this?
What does the woolly bear do when you try to pick it up? Do you find you can pick it up easily? Do you think that these stiff hairs protect woolly bear from its enemies?
The moth
Show the moth in the book.
What is the color of the moth and how is it marked? Are the front and hind wings the same color?
What do you think that the Mother Isabella will do, if you give her liberty?
Read the leading thought aloud, then let the caterpillar go.
Nature notebook
Draw the woolly bear with its bands colored exactly as you counted them, and the yellowish moth beside it. Write the date and the place you found it.
Tip
What we know now: an old saying claims the width of the brown band tells how hard the winter will be. Scientists say the band changes with the caterpillar's age and how well it has eaten, not with the coming weather. Comstock's own question, "Are they all colored alike?", is a good way to test it.