According to folklore, the woolly bear caterpillars coat can indicate the severity of the upcoming winter. The amount of black on the woolly bear in autumn varies proportionately with the severity of the coming winter in the locality where the caterpillar is found. The longer the woolly bears black bands, the longer, colder, snowier, and more severe the winter will be. Similarly, the wider the middle brown band is associated with a milder upcoming winter. The position of the longest dark bands supposedly indicates which part of winter will be coldest or hardest. However, this is just a weather folklore, and there is no scientific reason to prove that the different patterns of brown and black on the caterpillar indicate what kind of winter we can expect. Even though it is widely believed that the woolly bear caterpillar can predict the upcoming winters severity, the truth is that this caterpillar cant predict what Old Man Winter has in store for us in the upcoming winter.