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Winter 2002 Currents

Exploring Nature with Children Wildlife has unique and intriguing ways of surviving the winter. Our insects are no exception. With colder temperatures and food and water being scarce, insects need to find a way to withstand these long months. Most insects die each fall leaving behind eggs or a pupa (cocoon stage) to repopulate their species. There are however some insects that spend the winter as active or hibernating adults or larva (grubs or caterpillar stage). You and your child can enjoy spending time this winter searching for insects in their winter homes. Egg casings left behind by insects are the easiest to find. Look for peeling bark on decaying trees or logs. Eggs can often be found on the inside of the bark. Search for black, hard, shiny masses encircling cherry and apple tree twigs. Although this looks like a fungus, it is actually the eggs of a moth known as the tent caterpillar. Winter is also a great time of year to hunt for galls. Galls are growths or swellings on a plant that are caused by the chemical interaction of an insect and the plant. One common gall is the golden rod spindle gall. A small moth lays its eggs on the stems of the golden rod in the fall and the plant reacts to the eggs and develops a protective gall around them. If you and your child are searching for more active insects be on the lookout for stoneflies and springtails. Scouting out stoneflies involves investigating a running brook that is free of ice. These insects can be found moving slowly on nearby stones, bridges, tree trunks or the snow. On a warm day in winter when there is a snow cover be sure to check the base of trees in the woods for an interesting creature known as the springtail. Springtails look like specks of black pepper sprinkled on snow. Every so often one of these insects springs into the air jumping off their two legs, thus their name. Bringing your child outdoors to search for these insect signs is an enjoyable way to learn that life continues even through what seems the most lifeless part of the year. Information for these activities was adapted from the following sources: Hands-On Nature: Information and Activities for Exploring the Environment with Children. Jenepher Linelbach editor. Vermont Institute of Natural Science. 1986. Amazon.com Jorgenson, Neil. A Sierra Club Naturalist’s Guide: Southern New England. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1978. Sierra Books Mitchell, John and The Massachusetts Audubon Society. The Curious Naturalist. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1996. Massachusetts Audubon

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