It is not poisonous, but some people may have an allergic reaction to the bristles on its body. It is white with a darker-colored abdomen, but without the obvious, darker eyes of its close cousin the agreeable tiger moth. The adult moth tends to tent its wings over its back, rather than sitting with them spread. This species tends to have two to three life cycles per year, with one hibernating for the winter in temperate climates.

The larvae are defoliators, skeletonizing the leaves they feed on, but only the late summer batch of caterpillars is plentiful enough to do much damage to crops. It has a diet of a wide range of low-growing plants, including ground cover like grass and clover. The caterpillar varies in color, but is typically consistent in its coloration in a single specimen, without odd tufts of different-colored hair or separately colored heads. As an adult, it is known as the Virginian tiger moth.Ĭaterpillar life stage Identification As a caterpillar, it is known as the yellow woolly bear or yellow bear caterpillar. Spilosoma virginica is a species of moth in the subfamily Arctiinae.

Download woolly worm poisonous