Insects in Winter
What happens to insects this time of year? A few remain active, such as snow fleas, and some, like monarch butterflies, migrate, but the vast majority of insects overwinter in New England. The insects that stay here are susceptible to freezing due to the fact that they cannot control the temperature of their body. Some insects, such as woolly bear caterpillars, can tolerate having ice form in their tissues, but most insects go into a state known as diapause. When the days start getting shorter, these insects reduce the water content of their body, as water freezes at a high temperature compared to other liquids, and replace it with glycerol, which acts like antifreeze, protecting them from freezing. (Please excuse duplicate post. I’m testing new posting process.)
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ”ART” PHOTOGRAPH… thank you for all your fun informative delightful postings… I often send them ond to others…Jenny Sawyer
October 24, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Excellent , Mary.
October 24, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Photo came though fine.
October 24, 2012 at 10:20 pm
I once found a grasshopper nymph (at least it looked like a nymph) in January during a warm spell. I wondered if it had woken up from it’s “hibernation”. Are the insects mobile as they overwinter, or are they in some sort of a state of suspended animation?
October 25, 2012 at 2:46 am