It's accepted by organizers of the North Carolina woolly worm festival that the color of the worm's thirteen body segments or stripes can be read and interpreted as a forecaster of the severity of coming winter. This caterpillar seeks safety from bitter winter weather by sheltering under logs, boulders, boards, rocks, and other dark places until emerging from its 'frozen' state in May. Prior to settling in for winter, the woolly worm eats a variety of plants and then produces a kind of antifreeze which protects the creature from temperatures as low as -90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The isabella tiger moth belongs to the subfamily Arctiinae which has 11,000 species around the world. The festival celebrates the supposed weather-predicting abilities of the woolly worm, also called 'woolly bear' which is a caterpillar or larvae of the isabella tiger moth. The Woolly Worm Festival is an event held each October since 1978 in Banner Elk and Avery County, North Carolina. Annual festival in North Carolina, United States

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