My daughter found a Wooly Bear Caterpillar on our swing set and was so elated. She is a lover of all sorts of creepy crawlies and has taught me so much the past 5 years; my horizons are definitely expanding because of her!
My daughter taught me this!
After we put “Fuzzy” (she names all of her critters 😉 ) inside a plastic container and I poked several holes in the lid, it was time to do a little research to see how these caterpillars like to live. We wanted to be sure Fuzzy had a nice home and was well-fed. We knew if we took good care of the caterpillar it would live a happy life and we would get to witness Fuzzy emerge into a Tiger Moth. It was a win, win.
As superstition goes, if a Wooly Bear’s black bands are long, a harsh winter is predicted. The black bands actually depend on the amount of moisture the caterpillar receives, but I’ll be superstitious for now. Michigan had one of the harshest winters I can remember! 🙂
I found out that Wooly Bears love spinach and apples and a little soil to burrow in. It is also important to give the soil a little water once every week or so, to keep it moist. My daughter took such good care of Fuzzy; I knew she would!
We were able to watch Fuzzy change into a cocoon. I had never seen the transformation in person before; SO cool!
Once this happened, we placed the container into a Pop-Up Butterfly Observation Habitat that we already had. You could also create a little screened-in cube (using a little wood and screen material) that you could put the container in, lid-free, to watch the tiger moth emerge.
And here it is…..the Tiger Moth!
“When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her wierdness. They wanted her to change back into what she had always been. But she had wings.” #inspiring
I thought it was amazing to see the transformation up-close and personal. As you have probably gathered, it is super easy to take care of a Wooly Bear Caterpillar. It’s fun, educational and something your kids will always remember. Let me know if you give this a try. Connect with me on Facebook ←(click here); I love friendly new faces!
Until next time, Happy Exploring With Your Kids!!
~Colette
