Bugs Winter Survival Handbook by Kirsty Jackson

It is definitely on the chilly side at the moment and I am fighting the urge to stay safely snuggled up by the fire with a generous supply of chocolate. Birds are migrating to areas with a good food source, such as the influx of winter thrushes and waxwings to our shores. Many other animals are hibernating or doing their best to survive. But what happens to our insects when the temperatures plummet?

Insects form part of the arthropods, animals with exoskeletons, which make up around 80% of the world’s biodiversity. They exist in enormous numbers but are rather small in size when compared to us. And if you think we struggle to survive in sub zero temperatures, much smaller insects must have developed efficient coping strategies.

The main problems for terrestrial insects are to protect themselves from the cold and to find enough food to keep going throughout the winter. Some strategies are seemingly harsh. Only fertilised female bumble bees survive the winter by hibernating, whilst the remaining bees die. Other insects migrate. This year summer numbers of painted lady butterflies migrated from the continent over to the UK. Another of our favourite summer migrants is the red admiral butterfly, which breeds here then heads over to milder southern Europe or positively balmy North Africa for winter. Interestingly though, the numbers of red admirals over-wintering is on the increase.


Some insects in the UK have evolved so their breeding cycle is during the winter months. The winter moth is seen from late Autumn until January and February. They have evolved to breed in the winter so that the eggs hatch when the spring buds begin to burst and the larvae can feed on the fresh young buds of trees, shrubs and moorland species.


If you want to help our insects survive over the winter you can build a range of habitats in your garden by leaving out piles of dead wood, placing sections of bamboo canes in a frame or by putting a section of plastic pipe on the ground. Loose chipped bark and piles of leaves can provide shelter for beetles, centipedes and woodlice. There are plenty of ready-made insect hibernacula but it’s great fun to construct your own minibeast homes.