Tiger Moth<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PyrrharctiaIsabella2a_SouthernIll-U-edu-IG.png\")
\nPhoto from Southern Illinois University\n<\/p>\n
Common Names<\/strong>: Banded Woolly Bear, Tiger Moth, Isabella, Woolly Bear<\/p>\nScientific Name<\/strong>: Order Lepidoptera, family Arctiidae, Pyrrharctia isabella<\/em><\/p>\nSize<\/strong>: Adult\u20142 1\/4″, larva\u20141 1\/2″<\/p>\nIdentification<\/strong>: Black, very fuzzy caterpillar. Red-brown band in the center on the body. Hairs are short, stiff, and bristly. Orange stripe. If more than one stripe, a cold winter is supposedly on its way. Commonly seen crossing roads in the spring and fall. They curl into a ball when disturbed. Adults are white or yellowish moths.<\/p>\nBiology and Life Cycle<\/strong>: Adult is the Isabella tiger moth. Caterpillars hibernate and spin a hairy cocoon in the spring. Adults emerge from the cocoon to lay eggs. The larvae hatch and undergo six molts, crawl around awhile, find a protected place to pupate, turn into adults that then lay eggs, which hatch into larvae that actively crawl around looking for a place to overwinter. Two generations a year. Complete metamorphosis.<\/p>\nHabitat<\/strong>: Dandelion, plantain, and low-growing weeds and grasses. Meadows, pastures, uncultivated fields, road edges, and urban landscapes.<\/p>\nFeeding Habits<\/strong>: Feed on low-growing herbaceous plants of many kinds, mostly wild. Will sometimes but rarely attack ornamentals and food crops.<\/p>\nEconomic Importance<\/strong>: Little that we know of.<\/p>\nNatural Control<\/strong>: Parasitic wasps, birds, and flies.<\/p>\nOrganic Control<\/strong>: None needed.<\/p>\nInsight<\/strong>: Folklore says that the more red bands, the longer the winter will be.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"dirtdoctor-library":[],"class_list":["post-11760","library","type-library","status-publish","hentry","category-d","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Tiger Moth - The Dirt Doctor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tiger Moth - The Dirt Doctor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tiger Moth Photo from Southern Illinois University Common Names: Banded Woolly Bear, Tiger Moth, Isabella, Woolly Bear Scientific Name: Order Lepidoptera, family Arctiidae, Pyrrharctia isabella Size: Adult\u20142 1\/4″, larva\u20141 1\/2″ Identification: Black, very fuzzy caterpillar. Red-brown band in the center on the body. Hairs are short, stiff, and bristly. Orange stripe. If more than one stripe, a cold winter is…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Dirt Doctor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thedirtdoctor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PyrrharctiaIsabella2a_SouthernIll-U-edu-IG.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HowardGarrett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/\",\"name\":\"Tiger Moth - The Dirt Doctor\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PyrrharctiaIsabella2a_SouthernIll-U-edu-IG.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-06T22:46:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PyrrharctiaIsabella2a_SouthernIll-U-edu-IG.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PyrrharctiaIsabella2a_SouthernIll-U-edu-IG.png\",\"width\":916,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/tiger-moth\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Library topics\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Tiger Moth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/\",\"name\":\"The Dirt Doctor\",\"description\":\"Natural Organic Gardening & Living\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Dirt Doctor\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Dirt-Doctor-LOGO.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Dirt-Doctor-LOGO.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":237,\"caption\":\"The Dirt Doctor\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thedirtdoctor\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/HowardGarrett\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thedirtdoctor?ref=badge\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/dirtdoctortv\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tiger Moth - The Dirt Doctor","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tiger Moth - The Dirt Doctor","og_description":"Tiger Moth Photo from Southern Illinois University Common Names: Banded Woolly Bear, Tiger Moth, Isabella, Woolly Bear Scientific Name: Order Lepidoptera, family Arctiidae, Pyrrharctia isabella Size: Adult\u20142 1\/4″, larva\u20141 1\/2″ Identification: Black, very fuzzy caterpillar. 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\nPhoto from Southern Illinois University\n<\/p>\n
Scientific Name<\/strong>: Order Lepidoptera, family Arctiidae, Pyrrharctia isabella<\/em><\/p>\n Size<\/strong>: Adult\u20142 1\/4″, larva\u20141 1\/2″<\/p>\n Identification<\/strong>: Black, very fuzzy caterpillar. Red-brown band in the center on the body. Hairs are short, stiff, and bristly. Orange stripe. If more than one stripe, a cold winter is supposedly on its way. Commonly seen crossing roads in the spring and fall. They curl into a ball when disturbed. Adults are white or yellowish moths.<\/p>\n Biology and Life Cycle<\/strong>: Adult is the Isabella tiger moth. Caterpillars hibernate and spin a hairy cocoon in the spring. Adults emerge from the cocoon to lay eggs. The larvae hatch and undergo six molts, crawl around awhile, find a protected place to pupate, turn into adults that then lay eggs, which hatch into larvae that actively crawl around looking for a place to overwinter. Two generations a year. Complete metamorphosis.<\/p>\n Habitat<\/strong>: Dandelion, plantain, and low-growing weeds and grasses. Meadows, pastures, uncultivated fields, road edges, and urban landscapes.<\/p>\n Feeding Habits<\/strong>: Feed on low-growing herbaceous plants of many kinds, mostly wild. Will sometimes but rarely attack ornamentals and food crops.<\/p>\n Economic Importance<\/strong>: Little that we know of.<\/p>\n Natural Control<\/strong>: Parasitic wasps, birds, and flies.<\/p>\n Organic Control<\/strong>: None needed.<\/p>\n Insight<\/strong>: Folklore says that the more red bands, the longer the winter will be.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n <\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"dirtdoctor-library":[],"class_list":["post-11760","library","type-library","status-publish","hentry","category-d","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n