Caterpillars

Two of my friends have seen caterpillars this week during our January thaw.   Both Stan and Don saw them, but this picture was taken over by Rockwood Hall by Stan.  This caterpillar is called the woolly bear.  There is no green vegetation for them to eat and as soon as a cold snap came they died.
The woolly bear is a fuzzy furry little creature that evolves into a beautiful butterfly. Known for its fuzzy coat of hair, dark on both ends and reddish brown in the middle, the woolly bear caterpillar is actually the larvae of the tiger moth and not a butterfly at all..
It once was thought that the woolly bear caterpillar was the larvae of the Monarch butterfly, but it is not. Moths are a quite a bit different and usually have smaller features, and tend to be plain in color than the butterfly. However, the tiger moth can be quite beautiful
Woolly bears are most often found in the late fall crawling around on roadways and walkways trying to keep warm in the bright fall sunshine. They are dormant through out the winter months. In the spring, they form a cocoon and presto!!! they emerge as one of the true splendors of mother nature.

What triggers them to start their journey to becoming a moth during a January thaw?  The caterpillar is the second stage of this journey.  The first stage is eggs. Then the pupae and presto the moth.

Well it is a complete mystery to me.  But then most of the events in nature mystifies me.