Mickey Raine passed along his fascinating report on DeKorte Park caterpillars — just in time for Moth Night next Monday (July 21) and Butterfly Day on Sunday, July 27.
Here is the second part of the highlights from Mickey’s post:
The rustic orange and black Woolly Bear Caterpillar (above) seems to be one that captures my attention wherever we are.
Even in the winter, we have seen them in full like you see here.
The literature often mentions this peculiar behavior of crossing roads that simply does not make sense, and nothing offers any answers as to why this species does so as a common practice.
I’m pretty sure if you see a caterpillar crossing the road, or just not on its host plant, that just means it’s done growing and searching for somewhere to pupate.