Warm winter affects bug population

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - As the Wabash Valley enjoys a string of warm winter weather, some of the area’ s smallest critters are turning up as well.

Many homeowners and beekeepers say they’ve seen more and more bees leaving their hives and turning up in yards.

Those who work with bees say the insects, which live through winter by gathering close together and eating accumulated food, often venture out during warm winter days.

“When we have nice warm days like these, that’s when they take advantage of it to fly out, stretch their wings, and use the bathroom, because they won’t do that in the hive,” said Candace Minster, a garden manager at the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice at St. Mary of the Woods.

Meanwhile, the warm winter weather may also mean higher populations among other insects that live through the winter, including ticks and flea beetles.

“Some of the over-wintering insects like flea beetles … we could see a little added population in early spring,” said Jim Luzar of the Vigo County Purdue Extension.

For other bugs that lay their eggs in the soil before winter, the effect of a mild winter is less dramatic, Luzar said.

“Our beetles, squash bugs … those eggs are laid and they’re safely protected in the soil, and they can take a lot of variability in soil,” Luzar said. “Genetically, they’ve been programmed to survive a lot of winters and a lot of variability in weather.”