A MOTH AND A BEAR - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20TH, 2026

We had a lovely time yesterday, starting late after 1.00 p.m. We were going to run an errand or two, deciding to stop for lunch and we enjoyed the drive. Not driving in heavy traffic on the freeway but that was later.  

Rush hour going home. This was a quieter patch. 

I had it in mind to see if we could take more photos of Halloween decorations in this quaint little town we have been to. It was not too far out of our way. But first, as we were rolling out of the driveway, I saw a dark shape at the side of our front door. Curiosity kicked in and I asked hubs if he would stop so that I could get out and take a photo. Whatever it was I knew by the time we got back, as has happened many times, it would no longer be there and my curiosity was zinging. 

The double vision that I have, has been corrected by my relatively new prism glasses. Hubs was amazed I had spotted it. I jokingly told him “I miss nothing!” and in a joking way he answered, “Oh I know that!” He knows my peripheral vision is excellent too and now, sorry for tooting my own horn but I am grateful that my vision was taken care of by one visit to the ophthalmologist. I know others are having their own serious eye issues in our family, so not intending to make light of this by any means. I got out of the car to see this interesting creature.

Here it is! Google identified it as a Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar. The photo below was borrowed from this website if you would like to learn more.

I read that several species of black, hairy caterpillars can be found in northern Virginia, particularly during the spring and autumn months. While many look intimidatingly spiky or fuzzy, most are completely harmless, though particularly sensitive individuals may suffer skin irritations. Our Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar (Hypercompe scribonia) is the most strictly all-black caterpillar you will encounter in Northern Virginia. They are large, up to 3 inches long and densely covered with stiff, jet-black bristles. When they feel threatened, they roll tightly into a ball. This behavior reveals bright red or orange bands between the body segments. These caterpillars are harmless. Their bristles may be stiff but they lack stinging venom (though see previous red lettering).

I am hoping the caterpillar was heading up to the overhang over our door to find a crevice to pupate. It would be very interesting for me to see this process.  I found a great website here that tells all about our moth. It is called ‘Dave the Bug Guy’. Dave has excellent photos. 

The other news I had today was that we have another bear moving through our area. It was seen eating out of someone’s bird feeder. We have been asked not to fill ours until it has moved on. The last sighting was a couple of years ago. At the time it was said to have been kicked out of the den by its mother. I am assuming this is the same situation. Nature’s way of telling the young bear it is time to move on and find a place of its own. As the weather gets colder I will resume feeding. Hopefully our young bear will find a nice safe place to hibernate for the winter.

In my next post I will have several photos we took today. Here’s a peek! 

Thanks for looking and 

take good care of yourselves.