Due to the mild winter weather lately, we may see fewer insects this spring and summer. Bees, butterflies and wasps, among others, are already starting to fly. And that can be fatal, various experts tell NU.nl.
It has been hotter than normal for the time of year for some time. Last New Years was the hotter than ever measured. Again this week it is hotter than usual again in January, with temperatures above 10 degrees.
Because of that heat, it’s possible that some insects are already waking up from their so-called diapause, says insect expert Aglaia Bouma of Naturalis. A diapause is a kind of hibernation from which insects usually don’t wake up until spring. The heat can disrupt their rhythm, making them think it’s already spring.
But the nectar on which some bees and butterflies live is not yet available, or not enough. The flowers they get that nectar from have not yet blossomed. “As a result, they already use the energy they actually need in the spring,” says Bouma. That could mean they don’t make it to snap and die.
The same goes for wasps, explains Bouma. “Males don’t hibernate, but queens do.” If they act now, they too risk their early awakening being fatal. “But it’s also possible that they’ll fly around for a short time and then find somewhere safe.” Queens can still survive.
Insect eggs can go mouldy
Matty Berg, an ecologist at VU University Amsterdam, agrees with Bouma’s expectations. He adds that insects that normally hatch from eggs and pupae after winter, such as certain butterflies and hoverflies, can also get into trouble.
“We know those eggs and pupae can go moldy in mild, wet winters because they’re actually frozen,” he says. They won’t survive that fungal attack.
The fact that there will be fewer bugs next spring and summer isn’t immediately a big deal, says Bouma. “Most insects are generally quite capable of making it through a bad year or two.”
But if the situation keeps repeating itself, according to Bouma, it could have important consequences for the number of insects. “If more and more queen wasps die prematurely year after year, there will eventually be fewer and fewer wasps left.”
