BUGLAND: Woolly-Woolly

Saltmarsh Caterpillars survive the Colorado winters as full-grown larvae inside their cocoons, hidden amongst leaves and other debris on the soil. The adults emerge in late spring, and become what we humans recognize as one of two types of “woollybear” caterpillars that wander among the plants in Colorado. Saltmarsh Caterpillars (Estigmene acrea) are found all over the United States, but get their peculiar name from back in the day, when they were pests eating the salt-grass hay grown near Boston. This Saltmarsh Caterpillar was photographed at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge by Mark Silverstein