Raise a Woolly Bear

In late September and especially in October, you may find an abundance of woolly bears crawling all over the place. If you do, you may want to raise it until it becomes an Isabella Tiger Moth. Here's how to:

Steps

  1. Find a small plastic cup with a lid. Poke a few holes toward the top of the cup and in the lid for air. Alternately, you could buy a special butterfly habitat, but it will work either way.
  2. Put enough soil in the cup to cover the bottom of the cup. The woolly bear likes to hibernate in the soil.
  3. Tear up some leaves that you've found on the ground and place them inside the cup.
  4. Find some twigs and lay them in the cup. You also may want to make 2 or 3 twigs stand up against the sides of the cup so the woolly bear can climb up the twigs. Just make sure they aren't big enough for the woolly bear to crawl out of the cup.
  5. Lay some fresh grass in the cup.
  6. Find a woolly bear, and place it in the cup. Only put in a maximum of 2 in a cup because in their later stages, they do not like to have much company. Just keeping one by itself is great for him.
  7. Using a spray bottle, spray about only 1 squirt of water in the cup. Do this every 3 days. It's okay if you spray the woolly bear, too. You will find that if you are putting enough water in the cup, he will start getting a black band if he doesn't have one already, or if he does have a black band, his black band will expand or stay the same. If his black band is smaller, it should get bigger if he's drinking enough water.
  8. IF YOU PLAN to RAISE HIM INTO A MOTH, READ ON!
  9. He will start his 'moth process' in early spring, so in that time you should make a cage out of old window screens, and place the cup inside the cage. Leave the lid of the cup just laying on top of the cup, but not sealed. A woolly bear cannot lift the lid, but a moth can.
  10. Let the moth go outside. He cannot survive in a cage.
  11. Good luck with raising your new fun, interesting, and cool friend!

Tips

  • Don't put too much soil in the cup; the soil should only cover the bottom of the cup, so there shouldn't be much in the cup.
  • Make sure the grass you put in is green and fresh. Every day, take out any leftover grass and put new grass in.
  • Don't water his cup too much.
  • Make some of the twigs stand up against the side of the cup so the woolly bear can climb up the stick, but if you make the stick too big he might climb out of the cup if possible. It is fun to watch him go up and down the sticks.
  • When handling the caterpillar, it may curl up into a ball. Don't worry, it is normal, it just means it is scared, and as soon as you put it in the jar it will uncurl.
  • Don't make the holes in the cup too big just to be sure he doesn't crawl out.
  • Don't put too many leaves in the cup. Only 1 or 2 leaves should be fine.
  • It may be better to leave your Woolly Bear Caterpillar outside if you are planning on raising him to maturity, just so he can get fresh air and sunshine.
  • Wooly Bear's eat dandelions, sunflower leafs and other wild plants.

Things You'll Need

  • A medium-sized cup with a lid.
  • A woolly bear.
  • A spray bottle.
  • Old window screens
  • Types of leaves and plants (they love clover)

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