General video · Level B1 - Part 2

Where do bugs go in winter

Hi, it's Doug. What's the most colorful insect you've ever seen?

Level: B1 · 101 sentences

Transcript

  1. Hi, it's Doug.
  2. What's the most colorful insect you've ever seen?
  3. Well, a couple of years ago I visited the state of Florida
  4. and I was amazed to see these things.
  5. They're some of the most colorful grasshoppers I've ever seen.
  6. It's called a lubber
  7. and what was strangest of all:
  8. it was the middle of December when I saw them.
  9. Florida doesn't ever get very cold in wintertime
  10. so you can see lots of insects there all year.
  11. Someone named Kylie has a question about insects.
  12. Let's give her a call now.
  13. Hi Doug.
  14. Hi Kylie.
  15. I have a question for you.
  16. Where do bugs go in winter?
  17. That's a great question.
  18. If you live somewhere with cold, snowy winters
  19. you might have noticed this too.
  20. Just a few months earlier in the year, you could find all kinds of insects around you.
  21. Butterflies, ants, bees and lots more.
  22. But then winter comes and they're just gone
  23. and it's weird too.
  24. I mean it's not like there are no animals out in winter.
  25. For example you might still see deer or squirrels.
  26. Even a few birds like if you get a chance to watch a bird feeder.
  27. So, where do all the insects go?
  28. What do you think?
  29. I grew up somewhere cold and snowy and I used to wonder this myself.
  30. But before I tell you about where insects go in winter
  31. let me give you a clue involving a very different kind of animal.
  32. These, frogs.
  33. You see, I'm kind of obsessed with frogs
  34. and one of my favorite places to visit when I was younger
  35. was this pond that was near where I lived.
  36. I'd look for frogs there.
  37. I actually got to be pretty good at catching the frogs,
  38. showing them to my friends and family and then releasing them again into the pond.
  39. But every winter the pond would freeze over
  40. and the frogs would disappear.
  41. It wasn't just the frogs either.
  42. I started to notice there'd never be any turtles in winter
  43. and never any snakes too.
  44. It was kind of sad for me actually.
  45. I missed seeing all these creatures I would find in the summer.
  46. One winter while walking around the edge of the frozen pond,
  47. I was bored.
  48. I saw this rotten log sitting there, nothing too unusual.
  49. But since I was bored I decided to flip it over.
  50. As I flipped it over, I was totally shocked by what I saw.
  51. There, under the log, nestled into the freezing cold mud
  52. was this frog in the middle of winter.
  53. It was just laying there barely moving.
  54. Whoa, wait a second.
  55. The frogs were there the whole time?
  56. That's when I learned that frogs do something kind of like hibernation.
  57. They go into a long sleep in winter,
  58. burying themselves in the mud when it first starts to get cold in the fall.
  59. I'd heard of hibernation before but thought it was something that only bears did
  60. and it turns out it's not just frogs and bears,
  61. but turtles do this as well,
  62. and snakes.
  63. In fact, some snakes like these will actually all gather in a big pile
  64. like in a cave underground
  65. which helps them to stay warm.
  66. Oh yeah, I'd never thought about where the snakes went.
  67. So now, what about insects?
  68. Could it be that they hibernate during the winter too?
  69. I'll be honest with you.
  70. When I first heard this question, where do bugs go in winter?
  71. I thought you might be really disappointed by the answer
  72. because the first thing I thought of were insects like these,
  73. praying mantises.
  74. Praying mantises are one of many insects that, well... the answer is...
  75. they don't survive the winter, they die.
  76. While it's sad, it's part of their lifecycle.
  77. Every fall, praying mantises and lots of other insects too will lay eggs that do survive.
  78. So even though the adults don't survive the winter,
  79. by spring, babies will be born and their lifecycle will go on.
  80. But as I started to research more about this question,
  81. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not all insects die in the winter.
  82. Now, I'd known that some insects like monarch butterflies
  83. will actually escape the cold by flying thousands of miles farther south
  84. to reach warmer places.
  85. They migrate just like many birds do.
  86. But what about hibernation?
  87. Are there any insects that can do something similar to what frogs, turtles and bears do?
  88. Where they stay alive all winter but just aren't very active.
  89. In fact there are, like these.
  90. Ladybugs are a good example
  91. and just like the snakes you saw earlier,
  92. ladybugs will often gather together in a big pile in a warm place.
  93. Sometimes they even try to stay warm by sneaking their way into people's houses.
  94. If you live somewhere cold in winter you might be able to notice ladybugs doing this too.
  95. So in summary, insects and other bugs have different ways of surviving cold snowy winters.
  96. Some of them fly south to warmer places.
  97. Others die but lay eggs
  98. and still, others are able to survive all winter.
  99. They do something similar to hibernation.
  100. That's all for this week's question.
  101. Thanks Kylie for asking it.