Worms

An allotment holder has shown the plot at the end of September, with cloches protecting newly planted autumn garlic and onions. The crops are hardy, but a visiting badger has been digging in the soft, moist ground looking for worms, so the covers keep it off the beds.

Forecasters are revisiting the folk claim that the width of a woolly bear caterpillar's brown band predicts how harsh the coming winter will be. Meteorologists say the woolly worm's coloring does not hold up as a reliable seasonal indicator, and instead point to established climate signals such as sea-surface temperatures and large-scale weather patterns when weighing whether the winter ahead will be mild or severe.