Yellow Bear Caterpillar
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"And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.   And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31)

- God's Little Folk -
On the sixth day of creation, God made them, and us!

Yellow Bear Caterpillar (Spilosoma virginica) [Virginian Tiger Moth]
(To enlarge the photos, click on the photos or links)

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 01)  We spotted this yellow bear holding on to the stem of this plant while eating a leaf from the underside.  The yellow bear is polyphagous, which means that they feed on many kinds of plants.  The yellow bear eat low-growing plants and shrubs.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 02)  In this photo, we are looking up at the yellow bear as he or she clings to the underside of this plant.  A small insect is also clinging to the underside of the leaf (bottom of photo).

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 02a)  In this close up photo of the yellow bear, we can see the clusters of varying length setae (bristles) that grow from "warts."  Note that one seta in each cluster is nearly twice the length of the others.  Also note that the abdominal end of the yellow bear's body is a dark brown color in contrast to the light color of the soft bristles.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 02b)  On the head end of the yellow bear, the skin color is light, and becomes banded with alternating dark and light.  The coloration seems to vary among yellow bear.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 03)  Around the head of this yellow bear, we also noticed several dark brown or black setae.  According to the literature, the coloration of the yellow bears can vary considerably, ranging from yellow to orange and occasionally even reddish brown or black.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 04)  This yellow bear's skin is almost all light in color, with a few dark bands.  The small white "spots" are the spiracles, or breathing tubes.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 05)  We spotted this yellow bear walking across the road.  We assisted the journey to prevent the yellow bear from getting run over.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 06)  However, before Mary gently lifted up the yellow bear, I took another photo.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 07)  Mary gently set the yellow bear down among the leaves and grass off the side of the road.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 08)  This is another photo of the yellow bear before he or she disappeared beneath the leaves.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 10)  This is another yellow bear who accepted a helping hand to get across the road.  However, once upon the hand, the yellow bear decided that an arm was even better.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 11)  This yellow bear continued his or her "armed escort" across the road.  We also noticed that in the shadows many of the setae or bristles have taken on more of a reddish tint, and that there are also some long white setae.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 12)  This is our final photo of this yellow bear before we set him or her safely down on the other side of the road.  In our area, yellow bear have between one and two generations a year, depending on the weather; in the South they may have three or more generations a year.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 13)  We spotted this yellow bear on the shoulder of the road while we were taking a walk.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 13a)  This is a closer look at the yellow bear on the shoulder of the road.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 14)  As we were taking these photos of the yellow bear, we noticed something very curious.  Every time we moved in the take a photo, the yellow bear would turn towards us.  No matter where we moved, he or she would follow.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 14a)  This is another look at the yellow bear on the shoulder of the road.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 15)  The yellow bear kept moving towards us making us constantly move to get a good photo.

(Caterpillar, Yellow Bear - 15a)  To prevent this little yellow bear from being killed by a vehicle, we moved him or her to a safer place in the grass about 10 feet off the road.

| God's Little Folk | Art and Photos |

Presented here are just a few of the countless components of God's creation.  Just as we cannot have human and animal life without water and plants, neither can we have lasting peace without love and compassion.  It is our hope and prayer that this series will motivate people to live and act in a cruelty-free manner; that we would no longer hurt or destroy each other, the animals or our environment.

If  you would like to contribute a photo and/or comment to these series, please contact;
Frank L. Hoffman [email protected]

Photos by Frank L. Hoffman unless otherwise noted

� 2002-2006 - The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation.  All rights reserved.  May be copied only for personal use or by not for profit organizations to promote compassionate and responsible living.  All copied and reprinted material must contain proper credits and web site link www.all-creatures.org .

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The themes of these All Creatures Art and Photo Journals and Galleries Directory cover such subjects as - creation, earth, environment, ecology, plants, flowers, birds, trees, creature, animal, animals, fine arts, watercolor, painting, paintings, pic, pics, pictures, photos, vegetation, restoration, preservation, vegetarian, vegan, cruelty free, love, joy, peace, kindness, compassion, humor, poetry, quotations, lifestyle, Bible, recipes, sermons, stories, human, animal rights, God, Jesus, Christ, Lord, Holy Spirit, Jewish, Christian, Judeo Christian, health, ethical living, meditation, Yellow Bear (Spilosoma virginica) [Virginian Tiger Moth]