Our kids have had fun learning about various life cycles, including the ladybug. Check out our ladybug life cycle song if you missed it. They also love the classic butterfly life cycle. So, this time, I decided to focus on an odd, but extremely cute caterpillar who later emerges as a moth. Unlike other caterpillars who have very short life spans, this one has been reported to live up to 14 years. We live far from their habitat in the tundra, so we made our own using simple craft supplies.
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Science Fun-Learning About the Woolly Bear Caterpillar
Share these fun facts with the children:
- Woolly Bear Caterpillars live in the tundra, one of the coldest harshest environments.
- They are able to freeze without their cells dying during the long cold season. If you would like an explanation as to how Woolly Bear Caterpillars can freeze without cell death, you can check out this post on the Scientific American blog. The explanation goes beyond what most young children would understand.
- Their hearts stop beating when they are frozen and start up again when they thaw.
- They eat as much as they can each time the weather warms, but it is not enough, so they nestle down under a rock or log and freeze until the next time it is warm enough to emerge.
- They repeat this cycle for years until they are ready to spin a silk cocoons around themselves. They later emerge as a fully formed moth.
- There was a legend that the color of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar was predictive of how harsh the winter would be. The more dark coloring, the harsher the winter, and the more light coloring signaled an easier winter season. Watch the videos below to find out more and see the Woolly Bear Caterpillars:
This video shows the Woolly Bear moving about searching for food:
People have long believed the myth that the Woolly Bear Caterpillar can predict the harshness of Winter by the lighter or darker color of the fur-like covering.
The BBC has a great video about the Woolly Bear Caterpillar entitled Freeze Thaw Moths which you can check out online and may wish to share with your children.
Make your own Woolly Bear Caterpillar and freeze it:
You Will Need:
- One jumbo brown chenille stem (which will make many caterpillars, likely enough for a whole class).
- Scissors
- Water
- Ziploc bag (You could do this experiment with one woolly bear caterpillar and then pass it around to all the students so you do not need to freeze them all and they can take them home).
- Freezer
Take the jumbo chenille stem and cut it into small caterpillar size pieces (one for each child and one to freeze). Let the children explore their caterpillars and play with them. Our children immediately developed a ‘relationship’ with their caterpillars.
It looks pretty real, doesn’t it?
Next, soak one of the caterpillars in water and place it in a Ziploc bag. Freeze it. When it comes out of the freezer, it should have ice crystals on it. Talk about how the woolly bear caterpillar freezes underneath a rock or log then thaws and resumes lifelike behavior. Allow the children to feel the frozen caterpillar as you discuss the way that the fur-like covering scares away predators with the color combination and anticipation of a mouth full of fur.
Here, they are holding the frozen caterpillar and feeling the way the texture changes:
Check out these Arctic Tundra ThemedLearning Activities from The Early Childhood Education Team-#TeachECE:
Arctic Animal Sensory Writing Tray by Fun-A-Day
Home-made Books: Tundra by Powerful Mothering
Why Are Polar Bears White? | Animal Adaptations on the Arctic Tundra by Raising Lifelong Learners
Tundra Animal Sharing and Halving by Rainy Day Mum
Arctic Animal Matching Games by Life Over C’s
Arctic Animals Preschool Science: Blubber and Ice Explorations! By The Preschool Toolbox Blog
Science Fun-Learning About the Woolly Bear Caterpillar by Capri + 3
Arctic Preschool Letter Hunt by Learning 2 Walk
Polar Bear Sound Activity by Growing Book by Book
Thanks! This is information that I know my kids would like. They like caterpillars a lot.
Hi Natasha.
I am glad it is something your kids would enjoy. I think it is fascinating that this variety can freeze and thaw for years before transforming into a moth.
: 0 ) Theresa
This is so cool, I learned something!! My kids would love this.. I am going to head back over here when I get home to show this to them! (maybe I will plan the activity too this weekend!)
Thank you Working Mom Magic.
I hope your kids enjoy the videos and/or activity. Their life cycle is pretty fascinating. And, they're cute too.
: 0 ) Theresa
Ohhh fantastic – my eldest will love this. Going to hunt out our pipe cleaners to have a go at this.
Hi Cerys.
I hope your eldest enjoys it.
: 0 ) Theresa
such a fun idea! both of my kids would love this, i'm sure. thanks for finding my next rainy-day project! 🙂
Thank you Alyssa.
I hope your family enjoys it. It is perfect for a rainy day!
: 0 ) Theresa
This is a great unit! I love the craft too. We have wooley bear catepillars where we live.. So it was fun to learn about them. I've scheduled this post for sharing on my facebook page. 😉
Thank you so much Deborah.
That is wonderful that you get to see woolly bear caterpillars in person. Thank you for sharing this post.
: 0 ) Theresa
we havent seen these here by us but this is rather fascinating!
Fascinating! I even learned a few things. 🙂
What a fun idea! The videos are really helpful too. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Nicolette.
We don't have them here either but they are so fun to learn about.
: 0 ) Theresa
Hi Growing Book by Book.
I did too in doing research. It was a fun topic for me to learn about and share with the kids.
: 0 ) Theresa
Hi Alecia.
I am glad you found the videos helpful. I enjoyed sharing them with our kids.
: 0 ) Theresa
How long does it take one to thaw out? I have one that seems to be slowly waking up – it is March. Seems to have eaten a bit and misting water seems successful. I cant tell if something is wrong or if it just takes time to thaw out.
Hi Sammy.
I did a little research and found this article, which suggests keeping it in the refrigerator in a jar with leaves inside and plastic on top. Here is the full article here. It gives many tips on raising a wooly bear caterpillar. I hope this helps. 🙂
https://www.sbnature.org/uploads/pages/WoolyBears-1523472409.pdf