Ruud Kleinpaste: Hibernating (Overwintering) in unexpected places

Insect life cycles vary from species to species. It all depends on where they live and what the temperatures are in summer, and in winter

Many “overwinter” as eggs – which is easy: no eating needed, no movement needed… which is handy as temperatures are low in winter and insect movement can only happen when temps are comfortable.  Remember: they are cold-blooded, so rely on external temperatures to get energy for movement. So, cold conditions means not much movement.

Examples: aphids (on host plants); Cicadas inside the twigs (where Mum laid her eggs); Black Field Crickets (underground); Praying mantis (in cool egg cases stuck to our house).

Other species decided a long time ago, that overwintering as pupae or chrysalis is the way to go

Similar advantages: no movement no eating and slow development into adult life-stage.

Examples: some moths (Gum emperor moths and silk moths)

Some moth species literally slow down during the winter as “stunned” adult moths and hibernate – not moving at all.

Moth Chrysalis.

Social species, such as Vespid wasps (German wasp/common wasp) and Paper wasps (Polistes species) play a totally different game: they hibernate as adult females, fertilised and all.

We call them Queens.

Queen wasp Hibernating in wood.

Just before autumn turns into winter, the surviving fertile females from a colony mate with the males (drones) and, after a feed (often of carbo-hydrates … sugars!) they will look for a suitable place to hibernate.

Anything will do, really, as long as it’s out of the severe frost and preferably dark and safe

Of course, in spring when temperatures become a little more agreeable, the queens will leave the hibernation spot and try locate some sustenance in the form of early-flowering plants with nectar.

This will start the early-season cycle off. Finding a nest site and starting a brand-new nest is the very first priority.

But before it gets that far, we’re stuck with them in winter and often on or near the house. Look for hibernating queens in window cavities, in the grouting of bricks, indeed: any nook or cranny will do.

But as I found out a week or so ago: stored and stacked firewood is one of the best places for the queen wasps. As soon as you fill the basket near the Ultra-Low Emissions Burner, the blighters believe that spring has sprung and it’s time to move on to the next phase of the wasp life-cycle.

Yep they fly around inside the lounge, trying to get out through the window… if they haven’t stung you already when you lifted up the firewood to transport it inside, that is!

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