Post by BuckSkin on Dec 7, 2021 2:17:18 GMT
Wooly Worm Playing Possum
This wooly dude insisted on staying curled in a ball.
Pyrrharctia Isabella, the Isabella Tiger Moth, whose larval form is called the banded woolly bear, woolly bear, or woolly worm, occurs in the United States and southern Canada.
The thirteen-segment larvae are usually covered with brown hair in their mid-regions and black hair in their anterior and posterior areas.
In direct sunlight, the brown hair looks bright reddish brown.
Adults (in moth form) are generally dull yellowish through orangish and have robust, scaly thorices; small heads; and bright reddish-orange forelegs.
Wings have sparse black spotting.
The Isabella Tiger Moth can be found in many cold regions, including the Arctic.
The banded woolly bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, when it literally freezes solid.
First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body.
It survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues.
In the spring it thaws.
Larval setae do not inject venom and are not urticant; they do not typically cause irritation, injury, inflammation, or swelling.
Handling larvae is discouraged, however, because their sharp, spiny hairs may cause dermatitis in some people.
When disturbed, larvae defend themselves by playing possum (rolling up into balls and remaining motionless) and quickly crawling away.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella
Sunday_28-November-2021
This wooly dude insisted on staying curled in a ball.
Pyrrharctia Isabella, the Isabella Tiger Moth, whose larval form is called the banded woolly bear, woolly bear, or woolly worm, occurs in the United States and southern Canada.
The thirteen-segment larvae are usually covered with brown hair in their mid-regions and black hair in their anterior and posterior areas.
In direct sunlight, the brown hair looks bright reddish brown.
Adults (in moth form) are generally dull yellowish through orangish and have robust, scaly thorices; small heads; and bright reddish-orange forelegs.
Wings have sparse black spotting.
The Isabella Tiger Moth can be found in many cold regions, including the Arctic.
The banded woolly bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, when it literally freezes solid.
First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body.
It survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues.
In the spring it thaws.
Larval setae do not inject venom and are not urticant; they do not typically cause irritation, injury, inflammation, or swelling.
Handling larvae is discouraged, however, because their sharp, spiny hairs may cause dermatitis in some people.
When disturbed, larvae defend themselves by playing possum (rolling up into balls and remaining motionless) and quickly crawling away.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella
Sunday_28-November-2021
