The Yellow Woolly Bear caterpillar (Spilosoma virginica) is larva of the Virginian tiger moth (a misnomer more prevalent in the Western United States). It is a distinct species from the brown and black "Banded Woolly Bear" (larva of Isabella tiger moth Pyrrharctia isabella) whose colored bands might predict long winters. The Yellow bear might also be more cantankerous or solitary than it's cousin, the Agreeable tiger moth (Spilosoma congrua). As larvae, these three look like tiger tails--which is how the moths got their name. Strangely, they are called "bears" when they most closely resemble tigers and they are called tigers when they most closely resemble spotted leaves. Taxonomy is both art and science.