Hobbies And Interests
Winter Weather
According to farmers in the northeastern United States, studying the colored bands on certain woolly caterpillars in the fall can help you predict the severity of the coming winter. The more reddish-brown segments in the middle of the caterpillar, the milder the winter will be. While little scientific data exists to back up the myth, it is still circulated throughout the United States and has even been published in the Farmer's Almanac.
Symbol of Transformation
The idea of magical transformation is commonly associated with a caterpillar and a butterfly. An ugly, wormlike caterpillar wraps itself in a cocoon for a length of time and emerges as a beautiful butterfly. In some Native American legends, the god Quetzalcoatl was born into the world as a chrysalis or cocoon and eventually emerged as the ideal of perfection, a butterfly.
The Soul
In mythology across cultures and time, the butterfly (the adult form of a caterpillar) has symbolized the soul. Killing a white butterfly was forbidden in medieval Ireland because it was believed to be the soul of a dead child. In ancient Greek mythology, Psyche took the form of a butterfly and also represented the soul or inner mind. Aztecs believed their deceased ancestors visited them in the form of butterflies.
Hornworm Spit
In Navajo culture, one legend describes a hornworm caterpillar as the guardian of tobacco. In fact, a hornworm caterpillar is said to have saved the lives of two heroes by spitting an antidote to poisonous tobacco. Certain kinds of caterpillars regurgitate a green substance when bothered, and today some Navajos still use it as a remedy for feeling ill after smoking too much.