Design | Build Insect Houses at the Delaware Center for Horticulture

Join me at the Delaware Center for Horticulture  for a Make and Take Workshop:

Design | Build Insect Houses  Wednesday, June 3rd & 10th from 5:30-7:30

We’ll use materials from your garden shed, recycle bin, garage, and garden to create insect homes that attract pollinators and provide a place for nesting and hibernation. Visit Delaware Center for Horticulture  for scheduling information. Act fast, space is limited!

Where do insects go for the winter? The smart ones go to Mexico- like the Monarch butterfly who makes an annual trek to a warmer climate. The majority of adult insects opt to hibernate. Tree holes, leaf litter, and under logs and rocks are common shelters for overwintering adult insects. The Mourning Cloak Butterfly hibernates in tree holes during the winter, and is the first butterfly awake in the Spring.  Honey bees stay in hives during the winter, and form clusters when temperatures fall. They also are able to raise the temperature by vibrating wing muscles. Honeybees have been studied during the winter and are found to remain semi-active in hollow trees through the generation of body heat.

In general, insects are able to survive cold temperatures because they find shelter and nourishment through the winter in a variety of micro-habitats. Among these niches are under the soil, inside the wood of logs
and trees, and even in plant galls. Blankets of snow benefit insects by insulating the ground and keeping the temperature surprisingly constant.  Insects that are inactive during the winter months undergo a state in which their growth, development, and activities are suspended temporarily, with a metabolic rate that is high enough to keep them alive. This dormant condition is termed diapause.