With the chill of winter descending in New England, what happens to the insects that once filled the warm months with a hubbub of humming, fluttering, chirping, drumming, and buzzing? While they may not be as numerous, or as loud, they are often safely tucked away, patiently awaiting the arrival of spring. And, if you know what to look for, you may spy quite a few insects (and other arthropods) in winter!
Insects have myriad strategies for surviving the winter. Some species, like preying mantids, most grasshoppers, and many crickets, overwinter as eggs.
Praying mantis ootheca (protective egg case)
Others overwinter as larvae (young of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis). They use a protective cover of leaf litter, soil, tree bark, or a specialized structure like a gall to avoid exposure.
The woolly bear caterpillar, the larval stage of the Isabella tiger moth, often shelters in leaf litter.
Some insects overwinter as nymphs (young of insects that undergo incomplete metamorphosis), like some dragonflies, mayflies, damselflies, and stoneflies who live in ponds or streams. They are active and feed even under the ice.
Dragonfly larvae
Some insects overwinter as pupae (resting stage between larvae and adult). For example, cecropia moths’ large cocoons are attached along their length to a twig, luna moths’ leaf-covered oblong cocoons are camouflaged in the leaf litter, and black swallowtail butterflies’ chrysalises are held upright with silk.
Cecropia moth cocoon
Some insects overwinter as adults. You can often find wasp species or the Asian lady beetle venturing indoors to seek warm nooks. The mourning cloak butterfly overwinters as a winged adult, tucked behind tree bark or other shelter, carpenter ants hibernate in dead or dying trees, and bald-faced hornet queens hunker down in rotting logs.
Mourning cloak butterfly
Honeybees are one of the few insects that remain active through the winter. They form a large queen-protecting cluster– eating stored honey to give them energy to vibrate their wings and generate heat. The colder it gets, the tighter they huddle, with worker bees cycling in and out of the warm center.
Some insects migrate. The most popular example is the monarch butterfly, the eastern population flies south in the later summer and early fall to overwintering sites in Mexico. Common green darners and other dragonflies also migrate.
Check out our Arthropods in Winter Bingo for insects and other arthropods to keep an eye out for when you’re enjoying wintry walks.
Here are some children’s books about insects in winter:
