HOW DO INSECTS AND SPIDERS HIBERNATE?

Insects in the snow

Winter has now arrived and it's cold, damp and uncomfortable outside. Now is the time for us to make ourselves cosy indoors. But what do insects actually do in winter? Insects are cold-blooded animals. This means that the warmer it is in their environment, the more active they are. The colder it gets, the slower and more sluggish they become. Most insects seek shelter when it gets colder outside. There are various possibilities: Basements, attics, cracks in walls or even holes in trees. This varies greatly depending on the species. Most insects spend the winter in a kind of hibernation. When the cold sets in, they go into hibernation and cool down. Some animals produce an endogenous antifreeze to prevent them from freezing to death in winter. 

This body fluid can consist of sugar, glycerine or other substances. This trick prevents the body fluid from turning to ice. Different insects have very different survival strategies in winter. Here are some examples. What happens to mosquitoes? The male mosquitoes die in autumn. Only the female mosquitoes survive the winter. Unfortunately, these are also the mosquitoes that annoy and bite us all in summer. In autumn, female mosquitoes retreat to a damp and cool place. There she goes into a state of torpor. Thanks to an endogenous antifreeze, she can survive ice and snow without any problems. The queen and her workers make themselves comfortable in the hive. They shiver so much with their muscles that a lot of heat is generated. The queen is in the centre. She needs to be nice and warm as she has to survive the winter. Only she can lay eggs and maintain the bee colony. It can be up to 20 degrees in the hive, even if it is freezing cold outside. If a bee gets hungry from all the shivering, it can nibble on the delicious honey supply. Different spider species survive the winter in very different ways: some species hibernate in warm places such as a cellar, a shed or sometimes even a room in the house. Water spiders have a very special method: they look for an empty snail shell at the bottom of a body of water. They fill it with breathing air and close the opening with their spider threads. They then float to the surface of the water. They then spend the winter on the frozen surface. Spiders also go into torpor and can survive temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees. Insects and spiders are very interesting creatures. Nevertheless, we don't like having them in our own four walls. That's why we recommend an insect screen from INSEKTUM, which allows insects to stay outside and live there all year round. Because we need insects for our ecosystem. Start thinking about next spring and summer now and take precautions. With customised insect screen solutions from INSEKTUM, you can improve your quality of life and put an end to the annoying mosquito hunt. Thanks to our insect screens, you can leave the window open at night without worrying. The fresh, cool air will make you sleep better and you will wake up feeling refreshed. You can choose from a wide range of products from us, e.g. we offer Tenter frameHinged doorsPleated blindsRoller blindsSwing doors and Sliding systems on. You decide what suits you perfectly. If we have piqued your interest, please get in touch with one of our advisors in your area. We will advise you individually and without obligation.