People are beginning to lose interest in the groundhog for their ritualistic weather predictions and are instead turning to a tiny worm for the word on winter, according to the Guardian. The wooly worm, with its furry body and warm fall coloring, is celebrated in certain places like North Carolina for its legendary ability to predict the upcoming winter's severity.
It is said that if the midsection of the worm has many segments, the winter will be mild. Conversely, if it has few segments, then the winter will be rough.
But is it true? Can these small insects actually predict the weather, or is it just a tale passed down through the ages?
The answer is a little bit of both.
A scientist who sought to prove the relation between the weather and the insect's body did find a correlation, but that window used a very small pool and it seems that most just enjoy the fun surrounding the myth, much like its burrowing counterpart the groundhog, according to the Almanac.
Some believe that it is more about how the bugs react to other things, like the animals that are exhibiting certain behavior due to environmental changes.
"To me it's more of a response to what's already happening weather-wise," said weather expert Tom Niziol to the Weather Channel. "They're a fascinating little insect."
