Ask A Scientist© Biology Archive

name         Colton
status       student
age          6

Question -      We live in N.J. and found a Woolly Bear Caterpillar
that was all black.  We would like to keep it but are worried that it may
"NEED" to hibernate to live.
Also: We love to collect bugs (live) and learn about them, but most of
the books don't have all the information we need  ie. what does it eat,
how long does it live, identifying caterpillar stages of insects. Could
you please reccomend a good book, that has pictures of all life stages
and information that would be of interest to children?  Thank you for
your time. 
--------------------------
Good books on caterpillars are hard to find. Try the Peterson Guide to
Butterflies, Audubon Guide to Butterflies, etc. You will probably just have
to browse in libraries and see what you can find. Good luck.
By the way, the more black on the wooly bear, so the legend goes, the harder
the winter will be. One was recently seen around here (NE Illinois) that was
almost, but not quite, all black.
J. Elliott
============================================================