Nature on our Doorsteps: The quietness of winter

Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into nature on our doorsteps and the beautiful biodiversity of its plants and wildlife.

WINTER is a relatively quiet time in nature.

Most garden birds generally do not sing in winter, waiting instead until springtime before they establish their nesting territories.

The other sound that is absent is that of buzzing insects.

The gentle humming of bees tells of sunny summer days, not mid-winter.

Insects and other invertebrates are cold blooded creatures.

They cannot raise their internal body temperatures in cold weather.

Winter can therefore be lethal for many of them, so they have evolved a number of different strategies to ensure that their species continues into the following year, even if they as individuals do not survive.

Uncut meadows provide plenty of grassy tussocks where insects can hibernate in winter

Many lay their eggs early in the spring and summer season, giving their caterpillars and larvae enough time to grow and develop during the good weather.

By autumn, these larvae will have made the cocoons in which they will survive the winter cold, ready to further develop and emerge as a new adult when springtime arrives.

Invertebrates like worms, slugs, centipedes and woodlice burrow deep into fallen leaves, dead plant stems, or under rocks to escape the cold.

Worms will also burrow deeper into the soil to escape the frosty top layers of the soil.

Honeybees store food in the form of honey to tide them over the cold, flowerless, wintertime.

Because wasps and bumblebees do not make honey, their colonies generally die away at the end of summer.

Only the bigger, stronger queen is left after the workers are gone, and she needs to feed well before finding a safe hibernation place to keep her alive through winter.

Some flies and butterflies, however, will overwinter as adults in sheds or in attics, where they hope to survive in a state of torpor or ‘suspended animation’.

While they can survive mild winters in this state, prolonged periods of cold may wipe them out.

For us, springtime is announced by the welcome return of noisy birdsong once again, but that is some time away yet.