woolly bear

But not woolly bears: Also called fuzzy wuzzies and woolly worms, these fascinating creatures are some of the few that hunker down and brave the winter while still in their larval stages.

In the Midwest and Northeast, the woolly bear caterpillar is sometimes used to predict the severity of an upcoming winter.

The actor is unrecognizable under a bald cap, mustache and bushy sideburns that look like a family of woolly bear caterpillars have colonized his head, a paunchy fat suit and pudgy facial prosthetics.

If you see a banded woolly bear caterpillar inching along, winter is probably around the corner.

In creatures such as insects, the ability to self-medicate is almost certainly innate; woolly bear caterpillars infected with parasitic flies seek out and eat plant substances that are toxic to the flies.