Where do bugs go in the winter? Part I

Where do bugs go in the winter? Part I

These are the kinds of questions you may be wondering when you’re wiping ants off your kitchen countertop or spraying wasps that have accumulated in your window screen. For many insects, the change in temperature is a matter of life and death. Some have adapted to survive temperature extremes as the seasons grow cold, while others have developed instinctual strategies to keep their species thriving when weather takes its toll on an individual bug. Whether they sneak inside your house or have their own way to keep warm, insects are survivors and understanding their cold tolerance levels can aid your efforts to control them.

COLD WEATHER EFFECTS ON INSECTS
There’s usually a noticeable drop in the amount of insects invading your home when seasons change from summer to fall. It’s obvious the cold affects insects in some way, but how? And do different insects react to cold temperatures in different ways?

Are centipedes active in the winter
Centipedes that make it inside your home will stay active all winter long as they hunt down other bugs to eat.

DEATH
As you probably expected, many insects do indeed perish when cold weather strikes. This fate isn’t as harsh as it sounds, though. Most of these have already completed their true mission in life – to reproduce.

These insects often spend their last days preparing the next generation for the upcoming spring. They do so by laying eggs in sheltered areas or providing their larvae with food and shelter to survive the winter, often at the expense of their own well-being.

One good example is the field cricket. Adults (and immature nymphs) can’t survive cold, winter temperatures. Their eggs, however, overwinter and will hatch in the spring, bringing forth a new generation of these pests.

MIGRATION
Some insects, and Monarch Butterflies are a prime example, outrun the cold weather by migrating away from it. These insects usually engage in a one-way migration to warmer climates to the south where they reproduce, die and send a new generation northward to begin the cycle again.

Other insects, such as dragonflies, engage in a less direct migration. Their daily activities continuously move them toward warmer climates, and the insects never really experience prolonged cold weather. Instead, these insect populations cycle north and south each year.

If you’re experiencing bug problems in your home call a wildlife professional. To find out more about this problem see Where do Bugs go in the Winter? Part II  next week.