Now that the days are getting colder and the nights frequently dip beneath freezing, it’s time to get out all your nice, warm, fuzzy, fluffy… Woolly bears? Yes, its Woolly Bear Caterpillar season once again! Last year I wrote about the wanna-be weather predictor woolly bear (aka Isabella Tiger Moth Caterpillar). This year, let’s talk about a different woolly bear, the Yellow Woolly Bear Caterpillar.

Ok, come on – tell me that it doesn’t look like a bird is to blame? Quite honestly, when originally passing by, I did think it was from one of the bajillion birds around my house. Until I noticed a bunch more on the plant, often rather oddly placed, and took a closer look.

Hooray!! Moths! Why am I excited about moths you may ask? Moths at my porch lights means spring is finally coming!

You see a slight flutter out of the corner of your eye. That’s odd – it’s a tiny brown moth. Nothing to worry about, right? Unfortunately, this particular little moth is the savvy shopper, food prepper, and stock piler’s worst nightmare. This is the infamous Indian Meal Moth – and it has found your pantry.

I’m sure at one point or another we’ve all heard “timing is everything”, usually when we’ve missed out on something. Well, with bugs it is actually true. Whether it’s finding a food source at the right time, a mate before your competition, or in the case of today’s story, changing from a caterpillar to moth in the correct season. An insect’s timing frequently determines whether it survives or not.

It looks like I’m going to need to start watching where I step in my house. Not because there are dog toys on the floor, or rugs waiting to trip me up (although it has been known to happen), but because I have extra critters roaming about. Large, fat, and theoretically grossly squishy if stepped on, caterpillars!

The adorable Woolly Bear Caterpillar brings a lot of fond memories for me. As a kid, I would always find these furry guys crossing the road when out for a dog walk or just going down the street to a friend’s house. Every fall. Without fail. And of course, being a good little nature lover, I would have to stop and carry each one to the other side of the road lol. I mean, I couldn’t let them get hit by a car, now could I!

Whoever said little moths were all brown and ugly clearly has never seen this lovely critter. This bright, boldly patterned creature looks more like a roll of batik fabric than a fragile little moth in my opinion. And it’s a moth that actually comes out during the day!

Looks like someone has been drawing mazes or abstract designs on these leaves, doesn’t it? Want to know who the artist is? The artist is actually a baby moth! Now that’s what I call a talented youngster lol.

Remember back when you were a kid and your parents were freaking out about the gypsy moths destroying all their trees? Ok, well the late 80’s early 90’s since most of you reading this probably aren’t the same age as me… Gypsy moths were really a big concern when I was young. My parents wrapped black tar like sticky bands around all our trees to keep the caterpillar from climbing up. My siblings and I were taught what the egg masses, caterpillars, and moths looked like so they could be killed if…