![]() ![]() They extend mouth parts out to capture and hold prey while they eat them. Many species can tolerate super cold conditions and will not freeze until well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.įun fact: Dragonflies can live underwater in the nymphal stage for years and are ferocious predators. Water maintains a fairly stable temperature as you drop down the water column, and these insects find a place to wait out the winter. They are no relation to actual fleas, however, and they are harmless.Īfter the cold sets in, the immature, wingless versions of these insects (eggs, nymphs, larva) settle into ponds and lakes. They get their name because, like fleas, they’re tiny, are great jumpers and have black bodies that stand out against the white snow. Never heard of a springtail? Most people call these little arthropods “snow fleas.” They’re one of the few insect-like creatures people tend to notice as active outdoors during the winter months. They can freeze and thaw several times without suffering any harm. Mourning cloak butterflies have an internal compound that acts as an antifreeze, allowing them to survive winters in their adult forms while tucked under rocks or in tree bark crevices.įun fact: Wooly bear caterpillars, which will eventually become Isabell tiger moths, find nooks and crannies to tuck away in to spend the winter. Imperial moths burrow into the ground as caterpillars and spend the winter as pupae, resurfacing in the spring. They build their cocoons in the shelter of leaf litter and emerge in the spring. More commonly, moths and butterflies in Indiana tough out the cold in different life stages. These pests can travel the distance from Texas to Minnesota in just two days in the spring. These butterflies seek out the warmer climes of Mexico - with some traveling as many as 3,000 miles one direction - before returning to the United States in the spring.īlack cutworms, a scourge for soybeans, gardens and golf courses, also migrate as mature moths. One of the most famous overwintering strategies for butterflies is the monarch migration each fall. Here are some of the interesting stories Pearson has about how insects survive the winter. Those strategies include migrating to warmer locales or sneaking into houses, tree bark, the ground, or deep water, or utilizing compounds in their blood as “antifreeze” to keep from becoming ice cubes. “They are at the mercy of the elements in terms of their temperature, especially in winter, and they have many ways of surviving until it’s warm enough for them to thrive.” “A key fact to remember is that insects and spiders, unlike people, do not maintain constant internal temperatures,” said Gwen Pearson, outreach coordinator in Purdue’s Department of Entomology. How they do it, however, depends on the type of insect. ![]() But they’re still out there, in some form or another, waiting out the frigid months before re-emerging. Brilliant spider webs glisten with a morning dew, ants march along patios and sidewalks to their hills in the grass, and mosquitoes buzz near our ears as we slap at them and scratch the welts they leave on exposed skin.Īs temperatures drop, these critters just as easily fade from sight and our thoughts. In warmer months, it’s almost impossible to ignore the insects and insect-like creatures that surround us. ![]()
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