Where Do Insects Go in the Winter?
Image via Flickr by hellogeorgitodorov
Summer’s sticky air and hot temperatures attract insects that hover around your fruit bowl, march across your picnic, buzz in your ear, and sometimes – worst of all – fly right into your mouth. Michigan’s insects can be frustrating.
During summer, you can see butterflies and bees flitting along the flowers, flies and mosquitoes buzzing around endlessly, ants marching, grasshoppers hopping, and crickets chirping. However, once temperatures drop and winter rolls around, these bugs begin to disappear.
But it’s amazing how they survive the cold – or their descendants do – because they always reappear when the temperatures rise again. The bugs seem to vanish entirely from the chilliest corners of the world when temperatures drop, icicles form, and parkas come out of storage – until months later, like some magic trick… they reappear as if they have always been there. This may be surprising as Michigan has one of the harshest winters.
Where Do Michigan’s Insects Go During the Winter?
Most insects can survive cold weather conditions if the temperature is relatively stable and does not always fluctuate as alternate freeze and thaw occurs. There are a variety of microhabitats where insects can find shelter and nourishment throughout the winter. Some of these niche habitats can be under the soil, the wood of logs and trees, and even the plant gall.
Many of Michigan’s insects go in search of shelter in the winter, and you can find them in grass clumps, beneath tree bark, under stones and logs, or under leaves and soil debris. Some also burrow into the ground to pass the winter. A large number of insects migrate to warmer places if it’s too cold where they are.
The monarch butterfly, for instance, travels thousands of miles to escape freezing temperatures with millions of its closest friends. This butterfly, a type of insect native to the eastern U.S. and Canada, flies 2,000 miles or more to spend winter in California or Mexico.
How Do Insects Keep Warm?
Some insects go into diapause when temperatures drop (a semi-frozen state in which their lifecycle activities are halted). This is similar to the process of hibernation which many warm-blooded creatures go through. The shorter days leading up to winter can trigger diapause, not the cold weather itself.
Some bugs keep warm during winter. Honey Bees huddle together in their hives, using their collective body heat to stay warm when the weather gets cold. Some bugs avoid freezing by visiting warm by snuggling. Shivering creates heat that allows them to create a micro radiator in the colony, keeping them warm and protecting them from the cold.
It’s not uncommon for insects to seek out warm places to hide during the winter. Cockroaches, known to be opportunists, will search for warmth in your home if you give them a chance.
Other insects avoid sub-zero temperatures by moving inches rather than miles. Many aquatic insects stay at the bottom of ponds and lakes to survive the winter, where they can remain relatively comfortable even when the surface is frozen.
Do You Have a Winter Infestation?
Many of these creatures are incredibly mysterious because they freeze or enter diapause and then come back to life. They’re also fascinating insects since humans have found ways to freeze eggs and sperm but are still researching ways to freeze tissues. In that regard, the insects have evidently mastered the art. If you believe that you may have a pest infestation, contact us today for a free quote. Whether you have red ants, spiders, millipedes, or cockroaches, we have a technique for you.