woolly bear

...The larvae are polyphagous and feed on mulberry, elderberry, and other weeds. Their bodies are black and covered with long hairs. Mature ones are commonly seen walking on the ground in search of a place to pupate, so they are called woolly bears in England. This species is not found very often in Japan, and the caterpillars called bear caterpillars in Japan are the larvae of the fall moth Spilosoma niveum , which also feeds on weeds. In this species, the tips of the black hairs are white, unlike those of the tiger moth.

*Some of the terminology that mentions "woolly bear" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…幼虫は多食性で，クワ，ニワトコ，そのほか雑草につく。体は黒く，長毛に覆われ，老熟したものが蛹化（ようか）の場所をさがすため，地上を歩く姿がイギリスではごくふつうに見られるので，woolly bearと呼ばれている。日本では，この種類はあまりおらず，日本でクマケムシと呼ばれている毛虫は，同じように雑草を食べるシロヒトリSpilosoma niveumの幼虫のことで，この種では，黒毛の先がヒトリガと違って白い。…

※「woolly bear」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報