Here’s What Those Kentucky Woolly Worm Colors and Designs Mean for Winter

I've seen a couple of woolly worms over the past couple of days, and with the arrival of much cooler and less humid air, I'm not terribly surprised. We're still a few weeks away from the official, astronomical beginning of autumn, but let's see what those worms have to say about it.

Brown Woolly Worms

I'm guessing the worms I saw were brown, but I spotted them from a moving vehicle, so I'm not sure. However, for the sake of this discussion, let's say they were brown. What does that mean?

Here we have a brown woolly bear caterpillar (their official but non-scientific name) with black bands at either end. The folklore, as shared by Kentucky Pest News, indicates that more black hairs than orange (KPN calls them orange; I call them brown) means a harsh winter is on its way. Don't panic, though. I don't know where the worm in that TikTok is from, and that video was from last October.

Black Woolly Worms

Honestly, most of the woolly worms I've ever seen look like that one, and I think it's a close call in terms of whether there are more black hairs than brown or orange hairs. Would that mean an average winter? This one, spotted six years ago, would have been considered a bad omen.

What the National Weather Service Says

To put it succinctly, "Don't get them started." I'm kidding, but I do wonder how many eye rolls there are when weather forecasting folklore comes up in conversation. I guess because this is such pervasive folklore, the National Weather Service addresses it and then shoots down the myth. But the history of why we rely on these creatures for such important information is interesting.

What the Woolly Worm Becomes

Much in the same way we don't think about groundhogs when it isn't February 2nd, we don't pay much attention to what woolly bear caterpillars become. Frankly, I've never seen them in their adult stage, but they are beautiful. Check out the Isabella tiger moth.

It's just August, but fall is right around the corner. That means we're about to see more and more woolly worms trekking across the road, the sidewalk, or the driveway. I can't wait to learn what our winter is going to be like.