The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-01-31
INSECT LIFE IN WINTER.

With the first cold days of autumn
the insects which, during the summer,
have been everywhere in sight, MAX
ing the air hum and vibrate by night
and by day with their myriad voices,
begin to decrease in numbers, until,
upon the arrival of severe weather.
they seemingly disappear entirely.
And millions of them do actually ner-
ish, from some one of hundred
causes, but since we know by long ex-
perience that insects Of the same spe-
cies will be with us again next sum-
mer we also know that in one way or
another some of them must survive
the winter to perpetuate their race.
, And when I say winter" / do not
mean the cold weather alone: that is
but one of many enemies against
! which the insects have to contend. No
matter whether they pass the winter as
eggs, grubs, pupae or adult insects,
they have many foes, and only those
survive which are eminently fitted to
do so. Many are destroyed by storms,
blown or washed away from situations
elNOl ipiC " ItlClI CAlSNSliNCS w OSAASA
situations where they perish. by
I drowning, by starvation, or by becom-
ing the prey of insectivorous crea-
lures. Millions of eggs and larvae are
destroyed every month by chickadees,
nuthatches, creepers, Woodpeckers, and
other birds; millions more are eaten by
wood mice, shrews and squirrels. and
many fall victims to the attacks of
other insects which are parasitic. But
through the ages during which they
have had to contend against these
enemies, they have unconsciously be-
come very expert at protecting them
selves, and it will be found that in
most cases each insect passes the
winter in that stage, which, all things
considered, will insure it the best
chance of surviving until spring.
Of the insects which hibernate in the
adult stage, perhaps the beetles are the
most numerous. Many species may be
found under the loose bark Of trees and
other kinds may be dug out of decaying
logs or other decomposing matter in the
woods. The pretty spotted ladybirds
hide beneath old boards and other OBJ
jects lying on the ground, and the funny
click beetles, which snap their bodies
when finger is laid upon them, are
lying in holes below the surface of the
SOIL
Many ants bees, wasps and hornets
sleep away the winter in the adult form.
Some ants may be found in their
elaborate homes beneath the surface
of the ground, and others inside the
Trunks of frolc which nIIt loyyT in
winter. Some times they are found In
large masses, curled up and apparent
ly dead, but they will quickly revive
and run away if brought into warm
| room. House flies hibernate in cracks
and crannies in the house, and the
other day I came upon hundreds of
| mosquitoes on the beams of cellar
| just above large tank, used to sup
ply the house with water These mos
quitoes were sitting on the woodwork
just as we might see them In summer,
but they were in a semi-torpid condi-
ton, and did not attempt to fly unless
they were actually brushed from the
beams. Under old stone heaps and in
piles of rubbish many Of the true bugs
may be found in the adult stage at this
season, and a few of the butterflies,
including the morning cloak" pass
the winter in hollow trees, assures in
rocks and similar retreats, with their
| wings folded over their backs in such
a way that the gray, inconspicuous
under sides alone are visible.
But what are much more apt to at
tract our attention at this season are
cocoons of certain moths and butter
flies which pass the winter in the pu-
pal stage. One of the most conspicu-
Gus of these is the big silken cocoon of
the Cecropia moth, which may fire.
quently be seen attached to the twigs
of trees and shrubs. This cocoon is Of
ten more than four inches in length,
and Of q silvery grey color. The outer
wall is tough, leathery and water
proof. Inside this there is thick lay
er of loose, fiossy silk, and inside that
again, another tough wall or jacket
containing the brown pupa, which is to
emerge and become a large and beauti-
full moth next spring. Sometimes such
a cocoon does not yield moth, but only
some specimens of the parasitic
ichneumon fly which have developed
from eggs which their mother deposited
by means OF needle-like ovipositor,
with which she easily pierced the tough
membrane of the cocoon. The Pro-
methea moth, Asterias butterfly and
many other also pass the winter as
pupae.
Other insects hibernate as grubs or
caterpillars. The butterflies Of the
genus Argynnis, for example. are of
this class. In summer they lay their
eggs on the leaves and stems of VIC
let's, and when these eggs hatch, as
they do very soon, the larvae, instead
of feeding on the leaves at once, re-
main patiently on the under side of
them until the following spring, when