Cold Bugs

I can think of a couple of times where I have just been miserably cold. One was around this time last year when it snowed in Birmingham and I turned purple.  Another was when I went skiing my junior year of high school.

photo by Fran Sandon

I am the happiest when it is 90, hot, humid and sunny. Needless to say, I can hardly overwinter as a human I cannot imagine being an insect with no access to heat. Then again, I think about it and I am in awe by the fact that insects most likely do not think about finding a cup of hot chocolate or a fire or any of the other luxuries us humans have; they seem to have a life schedule, maybe varied among the type of insects, but it works.

Most insects overwinter by either freezing solid, finding shelter, migrating, or lowering their metabolic mechanisms. After reading about the different types of overwintering, I have deemed 4 insects my favorite “overwinters” and have done some future research.

The first of my favorite overwinters I call the “Einsteins” also known as Woolybear Catepillars. 

photo by Roy Lukes

An interesting fact I came across was:  “According to legend, the wider that middle brown section is (i.e., the more brown segments there are), the milder the coming winter will be. Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter.” However Mike Peters, an entomologist at the University of Massachusetts has other words on the subject, “There's evidence," he says, "that the number of brown hairs has to do with the age of the caterpillar—in other words, how late it got going in the spring. The [band] does say something about a heavy winter or an early spring. The only thing is . . . it's telling you about the previous year."

http://www.almanac.com/content/predicting-winter-weather-woolly-bear-caterpillars

I gave these caterpillars this name because of their unique and quite complex wintering strategy. These caterpillars use super cooling and antifreeze to survive the winter. At low temperatures glycogen is converted into glucose and sorbitol that reduces the freezing point. Supercooling prevents ice formation. So to sum this wintering up this caterpillar ultimately freezes, feeling as hard as a rock and then thaws. The catch is only the adult caterpillar can survive freezing the pupae cannot.

The second group of my favorite overwinters is the most shocking group to me. (Also known as Gynaephara gronelandica.)

 photo cred to wiki

An interesting fact about these caterpillars is that they “spend nearly 90% of their life frozen and only about 5% feeding on the tundra during the month of June” 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gynaephora_groenlandica

The most shocking fact about these caterpillars is it takes 13-14 years for these caterpillars to first cocoon then molt into pupa and then adults. 

The third group of my favorite overwinters are the MVP’s.” (also known as Owlet moth)

photo cred by wiki

An interesting fact I found about these is “many Noctuidae species have tiny organs in their ears that responds to bat echolocation calls, sending their wing muscles into spasm and causing the moths to dart erratically. This aids the moths in evading the bats.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctuidae

These caught my attention because these moths mate and lay eggs during the winter! They are less likely to be eaten by bats and the larvae encounter less bird predation since most of these predators are absent at this time because of their migratory patterns. They have robustly thick bodies with short wings. They warm up their bodies by shivering, which also helps to set flight.

The fourth and my choice if I was an insect group is the Eastern Tent Caterpillar.

photo cred by wiki

An interesting fact I found about their tent is  “because of its layered structure, the tent is thermally heterogeneous, and the caterpillars can adjust their temperature by moving from layer to layer. They may also aggregate on the outside of the shaded side of the tent and hang from the tips of their abdomens to enhance convective heat loss and cooling.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_tent_caterpillar

This is my favorite because these caterpillars contain glycerol which is an antifreeze chemical! I wish I had some more of this in my body for the winter. These caterpillars lay their eggs in a bunch around a cherry or apple tree which then seals and hardens.