Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 January 1918 — WINTER STOPS THE INSECTS [ARTICLE]

WINTER STOPS THE INSECTS

Black Ground Beetles and Others Not Killed, But Merely Experience Suspended Animation. With the coming of the frosts and freezing weather the insects are silenced, and as long as the temperature holds" below 50 degrees Fahrenheit they are rendered also inactive, according to a writer. Above that the hardier beetles and grasshoppers, along with a few spiders, are moving about, and when the sunshine warms the air more- and more certain moths and butterflies and two-winged flies, including the gnats, are on *he wing. Some species of insects feel the effects of cold far less than others, and this does not seem to be Influenced by sturdy bodies, hairy coverings or the situations in which they are found. The gnats are among the most fragile species, but they and the slim-bodied water striders are found active later in the autumn and earlier in the spring than any other creatures, excepting perhaps the mourning-cloak butterfly and the wasps, all of these creatures responding to the sunshine on the warmer, thawing days of winter. The black ground beetles also are quickly resuscitated by slightly warmer airs. This proves the fact that most insects are not normally killed by cold, but merely experience suspended animation, and are ready to resume their activity after any length of time.