All black means a cold winter, even below the Mason-Dixon.
I caught mine smoking a hookah, pray tell what does that mean?
I have always been fond of those fuzzy little creatures :-)
Always heard a hard, cold winter. At least from the old timers in Kentucky.
I’m from Michigan. I used to see a lot of yellow and white caterpillers, but never one like that with black and red.
As a kid, I used to catch them and put them in a long empty Nestea jar with some leaves. Just to watch for a while.
Some of them would end up forming a coccoon for the winter.
Look but don’t touch the woolies.
Woolies give you the Willies!
It is a different species, the caterpillar of the giant zebra moth:
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/MOTHS/Hypercompe_scribonia.htm
The regular banded woolly worm aka woolly bear grows up to be a giant Isabella moth:
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/MOTHS/Hypercompe_scribonia.htm
I saw one of the black ones last year and wondered the same, so I looked it up. Glad it did not foretell a never-ending winter!
I’ve seen an all black caterpillar. He objected to calling Kamala Harris black.
Here in York (PA), we haven’t seen a single one yet.
I have no idea regarding this critter, but tangentially, I came in contact with a cluster of Japanese Browntail Moth caterpillars that had my arm and neck in itchy red welts for almost weeks in September. Good fun exploring in nature, but be cautious.