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Yellow Bear Caterpillar

Yellow wooollybear caterpillars are densely covered with long and short hairs. They can be pale-yellow, brownish-yellow, red, or white in color. A fully grown yellow woollybear caterpillar will only be about 2 inches long. It is common throughout North America and can be found feeding on a wide range of garden, field, and ornamental crops. Examples of host plants found in gardens are carrot, sweet corn, pumpkin, cauliflower, and potato. The yellow woollybear caterpillar is the larva stage of the Virginia tiger moth. Female moths deposit clusters of eggs on leaves of their host plant. After about 7 days, the eggs hatch and the young caterpillars feed on the underside of the leaves. After feeding for about four weeks, woollybear caterpillars are fully grown and seek sheltered places in which to pupate. To pupate, caterpillars spin cocoons and spend the next 1 to 2 weeks transforming into moths. The Virginia tiger moth is nearly pure white in color, except for the abdomen and a few black spots on each wing.