Do abnormally warm Winter temps mean fewer bugs in Spring?

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

I know that when certain animals go into torpor or hibernation, they can actually jeopardize their lives by "waking up" when conditions don't yet support their survival. My question is...What happens to flys and other insects that wind up buzzing around in mid-winter before they can find food and reproduce? Although earlier springs might seem to be beneficial to Martins at the northern edge of their range, I'm wondering if they might not come back to areas that have fewer insects then in years where things stayed good and cold all Winter long. Hmmmm.

[Guest]

Don't start me to lying,,,,,,,,,,,,,

dick

[LarryMelcher/KY]

Fred,
I am from Kentucky and wondered the same thing.

BUT....
We took a canoe trip just north of Ely, Minn... where USA borders Canada.

Mosquitoes are TERRIBLE when it warms up. The climate is colder longer than it is in KY and the bugs still appear.

So, who knows... maybe you will get some good answers here.

Great Post !!

[Guest]

On the other end of the scale,back in my younger days of military service and drinking to much beer I fell in a Louisanna swamp while engaging in a nature call,a few months later I was assigned to a remote radar station in Alaska( saw it minus 56F that winter) and the mosquitos were wosre the next spring than they were in that Louisanna swamp.

dick

[CUL Lou~Mich]

Fred. I'm not sure, but I know I'm NOT impressed with the fact that as I was taking the wife to work this noon, there was a Mosquito in the car. When I got back, there was a fly on the Grinch my wife has out. I'm noticing there are hardly any birds at the feeders today. I'm sure it's because it's so warm, they are finding other food. For the birds I'm happy. I guess a couple of months will give us your answer. CUL Lou

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

I would think that the milder temps would help preserve more incets than harm them, providing there is enough moisture to sustain them. Mosquitos in Alaska reproduce by the billions because there is ample water for them to lay eggs in.

[Guest]

Lou,

Your observation that there are not many birds at the feeders seems prevelent in this area (western Michigan). Myself and the neighbors are all noticing a lower population at our feeders this fall and early winter. How much of this is due to the unusual warm weather will become clearer when we see how many return with real cold weather. While I do suspect that the warm weather has a lot to due with the low numbers you always wonder until they return.

Fred, are you seeing the same low traffic at your feeders on the east side of the state?

My biggest concern with this warm weather is the problems caused for trees and plants when diseases and pests that are normally killed by the cold winter are able to over-winter. Witness the problems with the pickle and cucumber crops in Western Michigan the last couple of years due to a disease that has always been kept in check by the cold winters here. Our own cukes were looking good in the garden early last summer and then in less than a week they shriveled and died. I'm not sure but that this same problem could affect squash and gourds, too.

Jeff Nelson

[Guest]

Geese.............it's sad but true. Just two weeks before Christmas it was nearing sixty degrees in Northcentral Pennsylvania. While sitting outside two mosquitoes appeared. Their conversation was loud and clear. One ask the other if they should eat me there or take me home. The other replied, "we eat him here". "if we take 'em home the big one's will take him from us". Must be the warm weather!

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Jeff, feeder traffic is pretty variable here although I'd say it's about the same as always. I notice heavier feeding on cold days and relatively less overall activity at the feeders on warm days. The area has a resident Coopers hawk and they get regularly flushed. One think I DO notice is that they tend to start feeding later in the mornings and it seems again related to coldness. The morning meal activity seems to peak between 10 and 11 AM. The proximity of the hawk probably urges them to feed in areas not so heavily concentrated with birds when it's most comfortable to do so. Typical attendance includes the following...

20 Goldfinches
30 Mourning Doves
8 Northern Cardinals
2 Blue Jays
3 Black Capped Chickadees
2 Red Bellied Woodpeckers
1 Hairy Woodpecker
3 Downy Woodpeckers
15 House Finches
1 White Breasted Nuthatch
4 Dark Eyed Juncos
1 American Tree Sparrow

Missing from last year is the Ring-Necked Pheasant which hasn't even been heard since October. I did gain the Nuthatch over last year so that's a plus. Also thankfully absent are Starlings and House Sparrows even though I sometimes see "clouds" of them only blocks away. I'm sure they'll be around if/when it gets good & cold and the suet cakes will suffer but then again, they pay the price for their thievery.

[Guest]

Fred,

That is good variety and very similar to ours. Do you ever get Tufted Titmice? They are (and always have been) regulars at our place. And, like the chickadees and bluejays, titmice are very sassy when we go out on the deck. The first winter that Cathy and I lived at our place I trained the titmice and chickadees to feed from my hand. That was a lot of fun but also took a lot of time and patience to accomplish. I just don't seem to have that amount of time any more - we never even see our place in daylight during the winter except on the weekends.

Jeff

[Guest]

Fred, that is an interesting question. Around here you always hear the opposite.......a warm winter means insects will be abundant the following spring. So who knows. Just an opinion but I think nature has dealt with these issues for thousands of years and is very adaptable to cold and warm spells through the winter months since it happens every year. It is an interesting question to ponder.

[Sue]

My dad always said that you couldn't freeze an insect, and I think maybe he was right. No matter what the weather, we always seem to have an abundance of insects come warm weather!!