Insect winter ecology entails the overwinter survival strategies of insects, which are in many respects more similar to those of plants than to many other animals, such as mammals and birds. This is because unlike those animals, which can generate their own heat internally (endothermic), insects must rely on external sources to provide their heat (ectothermic). Thus, insects sticking around in the winter, must tolerate freezing or rely on other mechanisms to avoid freezing. Loss of enzymatic function and eventual freezing due to low temperatures daily threatens the livelihood of these organisms during winter. Not surprisingly, insects have evolved a number of strategies to deal with the rigors of winter temperatures in places where they would otherwise not survive.
Read more about Insect Winter Ecology: Survival Strategies, Migration, Freeze Avoidance, Freeze Tolerance, Locations of Hibernating Insects, Aquatic Insects
Famous quotes containing the words insect, winter and/or ecology:
“Of what use, however, is a general certainty that an insect will not walk with his head hindmost, when what you need to know is the play of inward stimulus that sends him hither and thither in a network of possible paths?”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“He is the rich man, and enjoys the fruits of riches, who summer and winter forever can find delight in his own thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“... the fundamental principles of ecology govern our lives wherever we live, and ... we must wake up to this fact or be lost.”
—Karin Sheldon (b. c. 1945)