MARION COUNTY, Mo. (WGEM) - Winter is just a few months away, and the famous wooly bear caterpillars have sparked conversation on how brutal this winter could be.

Many correlate a wooly bear caterpillar with more black segments with a harsher winter.

“Technically, it is a myth, I hate to burst people’s bubble,” said Ashley Johnson, Wildlife Biologist Assistant with Missouri Department of Conservation’s Hannibal office. “I equate it to if the groundhog sees its shadow.”

Entomologists have suggested that the color variation can come from feeding intensity, individual variability, and the time of year you find the caterpillar.

According to folklore, an all brown caterpillar would indicate a mild winter, and an all black one would indicate a more severe winter, but that myth can be quickly

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