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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing Virginia tiger moths. These arthropods have another common name as larvae, yellow bear or yellow wooly bear caterpillars. They get this common name from their yellow appearance, but they come in shades from nearly white to burnt orange. Adults are white with sparse black spots and a yellow chest. The name Virginia tiger moth might suggest a limited range, but this is a misnomer. These invertebrates live from southern Canada to Northern Mexico. They can be seen from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast, but they're more common in eastern North America. 

Yellow wooly bears share their common name with other tiger moth species. These fuzzy caterpillars are believed to predict the severity of winter based on color and size, but these factors differ between regions. This species frequents low elevation forests and grasslands. They can be seen in agricultural fields and are known from urban backyard gardens and parks. In the southernmost part of their range, Virginia tiger moth adults are active year-round, but populations in temperate climates have two or three generations with a distinct overwintering period from around November to April.

Virginia tiger moth eggs are yellow in color. A female lays 50 to 200 eggs in vegetation. These hatch about a week later into caterpillars. The larvae begin life gregarious, meaning they stick together in their birth group, however, as they get older, they spread out and become solitary. Yellow wooly bears spend most of their time resting, but they also eat during this phase of their lives. These arthropods eat foliage from low-lying shrubs and trees. It takes just over a month for them to consume enough before they reach about two inches (5cm) in length and are ready to pupate. 

Yellow wooly bears pupate under tree bark or hidden in leaf litter. They use the long "hairs" they had as larvae to construct their cocoon. Like tussock moths, this caterpillar's "hairs" can irritate another animal's skin or eyes, but yellow wooly bears aren't poisonous. It takes one to two weeks for the pupae to mature into an adult, though in temperate regions the final generation of the year overwinters for months. Adult Virginia tiger moths don't eat and perish by the onset of freezing temperatures.

It's believed these moths don't have a foul taste, which may be why adults fake their death. When threatened, an adult Virginia tiger moth flips up its wings and curls its body like a dying spider's legs. They remain like this until the threat has passed. Potential predators to these nocturnal animals include bats, assassin bugs and other invertebrates, and small mammals and reptiles.

It should be noted that, like monarch butterflies, yellow wooly bears eat milkweed which gives monarchs their nasty flavor. Yellow wooly bears, however, are more general in their eating habits and will move on to a new patch of vegetation even if the previous patch was more nutritious!

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