Move over, weather apps: the Woolly Bear Caterpillar is nature's original meteorologist. This fuzzy little crawler is famous for its supposed ability to predict the harshness of winter. The longer the woolly bear's black bands, the longer, colder, snowier and more severe the winter will be.

Scientists raise a sceptical eyebrow at this claim, but that doesn’t stop woollybear festivals taking place in the fall every year. In one Pennsylvania town, “Oil Valley Vick,” perhaps the most prominent woolly bear of all time, was hoped to draw in crowds to match that of Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog prognosticator.

Weather forecasting aside, these caterpillars are the ultimate survivalists. They can literally freeze solid in winter and thaw out in spring, good as new.