Hicks Meadow provides habitat for overwintering insects
Do you ever wonder where all the insects go when the weather turns cold? A few, such as Monarch butterflies, migrate south to warmer climates. Some, like queen bumblebees, hibernate under the soil, rocks, or fallen trees. Most adult insects, however, do not survive the winter. How, then, do they perpetuate their species? By leaving behind the next generation in the form of eggs, larvae, or pupa. These are programmed to survive the winter blast in various stages of arrested development. When the temperatures warm the following spring, the immature ones continue their path to maturity, mate, and start the cycle again.
Here is a look at some common insects found in New Canaan and their method of survival.
Livingston-Higley Meadow
Praying Mantis
Adult praying mantids live about 6 months; the next generation winters over as eggs.
Female praying mantids are cannibalistic and often kill and eat the males after mating. The females, in turn, only live a few weeks after laying their eggs. Each female lays up to 300 eggs placed on twigs and stems and sometimes on fence posts or under eaves. The female surrounds the eggs in a foamy secretion, which hardens into a protective case called an ootheca.
The eggs hatch soon after the temperatures warm in the spring. The nymphs emerge fully formed as tiny versions of the adults. They are heavily preyed upon, and it is estimated that only one-fifth of them survive to adulthood.
Praying mantids are considered to be beneficial insects in the garden and landscape. They are voracious carnivores who eat all kinds of insects, including flies, crickets, mosquitos, and even spotted lanternflies.
A praying mantis egg case in the asters at the Firefly Preserve
Spicebush swallowtail on a coneflower
Spicebush Swallowtail
Adult spicebush swallowtail butterflies only live 1-2 weeks; the final generation of the season overwinters as a chrysalis.
In Connecticut, there are three generations of spicebush swallowtails each season. The adults die soon after mating and laying eggs. The eggs hatch in 4 to 10 days; the caterpillar phase lasts 4 to 6 weeks, and the chrysalis phase lasts 10 to 20 days. The exception is the last generation born at the end of the summer. These eggs hatch and become caterpillars who spend the winter in chrysalis form, buried in leaf mulch or under rocks and logs.
In the fall, spicebush caterpillars turn bright orange and then brown before spinning their cocoons. Note the large fake eyespots on the top of the head. They present a scary, snake-like countenance which may discourage would be predators.
Spicebush caterpillar seeking a hibernation spot at Still Pond Preserve
Bumblebee in butterfly weed at Silvermine Fowler Meadow
Bumblebees
Adult bumblebees live only one season, except the pregnant queen, who hibernates through the winter.
Bumblebees are social and live in hives with the same hierarchy as honeybees. The queen lays all the eggs; the female worker bees maintain the nest and collect pollen to feed the young; the male drones only serve to impregnate the queen. Bumblebees differ from honeybees in that only the queen survives the winter. All the other members of the hive die in the first frost. The queen, who is pregnant, hibernates underground throughout the winter. When she emerges in early spring, she makes a new nest and lays eggs to build a new colony.
Bumblebees can raise their body temperature by buzzing, which enables them to be active for an extended period between mid-March and early November. However, most honeybees don’t fly if the temperature is below 55 degrees.
Paper wasp on creeping thistle at Livingston Higley
Paper Wasps
Adult paper wasps live only one season, except the pregnant queen, who hibernates through the winter.
Paper wasps are social and live in hives with the same hierarchy as bumblebees. The queen lays all the eggs; the female workers maintain the nest and hunt for insects to feed the young; the male drones only serve to impregnate the queen. As with bumblebees, only the pregnant wasp queen survives the winter by hibernating underground. She emerges in the spring, builds a new nest, and starts a new colony.
Wasps prey on other insects which they feed to their young. The adults are also pollinators. Towards the end of the summer, when they are finished raising the young in the hive, they switch their diet and forage for nectar, a source of hydration and energy.
Paper wasps do not reuse old nests. Once winter sets in, the hive will empty and safe to handle without fear of being stung.
A paper wasp hive
Mining bee burrowing at Hicks Meadow
Mining Bees
Adult mining bees are active for about 6 weeks from early to mid-spring; the next generation spends a year maturing underground.
Mining bees are solitary nesters and don’t live in hives or maintain a social hierarchy. Each female digs a chambered nest underground, laying 7 to 8 eggs. She provisions each egg with pollen balls, seals the nest, then leaves and dies soon after. Her offspring hatch and develop underground, feeding on the stored pollen. They emerge as adults the following spring.
Groups of mining bees often nest in proximity without much social interaction. Hicks Meadow is an ideal habitat for them as the soil is light and gravelly and easily excavated.
Jewel Wing Damselfly at Still Pond
Jewel Wing Damselfly
Adult jewel wing damselflies live 2 to 3 weeks; the next generation winters over as aquatic nymphs hibernating underwater in the mud.
Damselflies lay their eggs in fresh, shallow water and often live near ponds, lakes, or wetlands. After their eggs hatch into nymphs, called niaids, they live underwater for several months and up to two years before maturing into adults.
Damselflies are predatory in both their adult and nymph stages. The adults have compound eyes, enabling them to catch insects on the wing. They feed on mosquitos, gnats, flies, butterflies, and moths. In their aquatic phase they eat larva of mosquitos and other insects, water beetles, worms, snails, tadpoles and even small fish.
Clean water is imperative to the health of damselflies and other aquatic insects.
Still Pond is a haven for damselfly larva
In conclusion, most insects in our neck of the woods enjoy a rather short adulthood and spend most of their life in lesser stages of development. A great majority of them overwinter near or under the ground. Vibrant ecosystems depend on natural preserves with undisturbed soils. Open space habitats with plenty of leaf mulch, fallen trees, woody plant stalks and non-polluted fresh water provide safe winter havens for the next generation.
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