Insects have varied and fascinating strategies to survive winter and freezing temperatures! Insects have fascinating adaptations to survive below freezing temperatures. From praying mantises, wooly bears, silk moths and more to feral honey bees, each has an effective and unique strategy. Praying mantises lay eggs, wooly bears over winter as larva, giant silk moths overwinter in a pupa, monarch butterflies fly south and honey bees actually cross the line as "cold blooded" ectotherms and as a colony generate heat to keep from freezing. With the queen protected in the center of a "cluster". Bees on the outside slowly move to the center, while bees at the center will migrate to the outside so now group of bees is exposed to the cold for too long. Worker bees actually generate heat by flexing their muscles. The muscles flexed are the ones that power the wings but they can do so in winter with out the wings actually moving! As a consequence of muscle contraction heat is lost during the contraction. Similarly, human bodies heat up during vigorous exercise. The bees use this muscle generate heat to protect the queen and keep the whole colony from freezing on cold days! Insects have many amazing strategies to survive winter and freezing temperatures!

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