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In some places in the world and in the US, such as the New England states and especially in North Carolina (where the Woolly Worm Festival is held with activities such as caterpillar races and weather predictions), it is believed that the larvae of the Isabella tiger moth (Wooly Worm or Woolly Bear caterpillar) can indeed provide these predictions. People look for the intensity of the black color on the banded caterpillars, that are black and brown, or they compare the ratio of the black to brown coloration on the bodies of the caterpillars. If there is more brown than black, they predict it will be a milder winter, and, if there is more black than brown, there will be a very harsh winter.

According to the web page of the Woolly Worm Festival [see link below in the related links section]:

"...the woolly worm has a pretty good weather prediction rate. Scientists would prefer not to acknowledge it, but the woolly worm has a 80-85% accuracy rate for predicting the weather. The worm has held its record for accuracy for more than 20 years."

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15y ago

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