Most people know that bears hibernate in cold areas during the winter. It’s a way for them to survive times when there’s a food shortage. But what about insects, a reader recently asked? What happens to all of those bugs we see during the summer that disappear during the cold months? Like bears, many insects hibernate. Some burrow deep into the earth, below where the soil freezes – called the frost line. Ants do this. Those big ant hills you see in the forest are actually a kind of sun catcher, a way to keep the ants warmer. Similarly, insects that hide under rocks use those stones as big heat collectors to help keep them a little warmer.
