woolly bear

plural woolly bears · alternative wooly bear

1. colloquialA hairy caterpillar.

   Kellogg calls it the 'wooliest woolly bear,' and notes that 'hedgehog' is a popular name.

   1927, C. Fitzhugh Talman, “A caterpillar Weather prophet(?)”, in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, page 183

   4 more examples

   Caryæ is not a woolly bear, but is quite as densely covered with hairs and crawls quite as fast as any woolly bear.

   1902, Ida Mitchell Eliot, Caaroline Gray Soule, Caterpillars and Their Moths, page 204

   It may be added that during 1919 a different woolly bear (Teracotoma submaculata Wk.) was noticeably abundant and mischievous in the gardens at Port Elizabeth.

   1921, Agricultural Journal, volume 2, page 403

   The true Australian Tiger-Moths are few in number, the wings mostly white with dark spots and the body often red. Ardices glatignyi is a very common and typical species. The larva is a typeical "Woolly Bear," reddish brown in colour and very hairy.

   1926, Robin John Tillyard, The Insects of Australia and New Zealand, page 441

   In spring a Woolly Bear spins a cocoon made out of its woolly hair. It uses its silk to hold the hairs together. The adult moth emerges several weeks later.

   2000, Jonathan P. Latimer, Karen Stray Nolting, Caterpillars, page 38

   1. colloquialA larva of the species Pyrrharctia isabellaa of arctiid moths.

      Synonyms: wooly bear, isabella tiger moth, woolly bear caterpillar, woolly worm, woolly worm

2. historicalslanggovernmentAn explosive shell that gives out dense smoke when it bursts.

   As Bourne came out, he could see shells exploding by the dump, with some shrapnel bursting, woolly-bears they called them, overhead.

   1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage, published 2014, page 236

   1 more example

   ‘A Woolly Bear was used for demolition, and could be compared with our 5.9's. It burst on impact, made a big hole and left a tremendous cloud of black smoke.’

   2000, Harold A Skaarup, Whiz Bangs and Woolly Bears, page 12