Here in Ohio, we have Wooley Bear Caterpillars. They are fuzzy with black heads and tails. And a brown band in the middle. Folklore has it that you can predict the severity of the coming winter from them. The wider the brown band the milder ther winter, and just the opposite for a narrow band. The wooley bears start to show up in late Aug and Sept. But it's so dry this year that I haven't seen any. When I was a kid, we always called them wooly worms. Dad always said that the more black at the head and tail meant that it was going to be a hard winter at the begining and end. Either way, I have noticed that over the years, they have been more correct than wrong! What folklore items are in your local area?
My daughter has a wooly bear caterpillar in her insect house. its eating off the leaves we put in there. I'll have to get a picture of it and post later.
If we have lots of rowan berries, we're in for a mild winter, because the tree won't carry two heavy loads in one season. But on the south-west side of Norway it's quite the opposite. We've got loads of rowan berries this year.
Same here with the Rowen Berry. The trees are filled with them, so we will have a very mild winter temp wise but lots and lots of snow. Thats how its told up here. We have those furry worms too, but their all black. If read right then we are in for another ice age up here,,,lol.
