Have you ever heard of a Woolly Bear? We found this little guy on our Wandering Jew, munching away. So, we collected him along with some soil, leaves, sticks and some of his treats he was dining on and put them in a jar. He's been fun to watch.

It took a little research to find out what it was. Butterfly caterpillars are fairly easy to identify, but moth caterpillars are not as well-known. This one in particular, we found, is a Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar, nicknamed Woolly Bear for his cute appearance.

Some caterpillars are poisonous, so be careful about picking them up with your fingers. A general rule for caterpillars is to never touch the fuzzy ones. This one is not poisonous, but those are not my fingers either. :-) I borrowed this picture from another site.Do you see the red stripes between segments? That's the clue we needed to identify this critter. He is still a caterpillar now. When he molts, he leaves behind fuzzy black balls. It's cute. We hope to actually see him make it to his moth stage. Isn't this a pretty picture?If you want a little more information on this interesting creature, here's the site I gather my information from: http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek020608.html

We have some neat bird stories to share next.