why don't mosquitoes die off in the winter? Why are there some left to continue on from year to year?
461546
If only they would die!!\n\nHOWEVER...\n\nNot only can some of the mosquito eggs survive the winter, it is shown that even some adult females (the biting ones) may survive as well.  Granted, most do not.  \n\nEggs are by far the hardiest.  There have been cases where eggs have survived up to 7 years before hatching (in areas where a hard freeze occurs in the winter).  Although the likelihood of an egg surviving decreases exponentially each year, some always seem to make it.  This also explains why the number of mosquitoes can be so overwhelming after a region gets a great deal of precipitation (causing areas that normally don't have standing water during rainy seasons to have standing water).  Not only are you dealing with the mosquitoes from the current year, but all of the eggs hatching from the previous years that did not have enough water for them to "hatch".\n\nThe physiology and mechanism of their surviving the freezing temperatures is beyond me!\n\nI hope this has helped explain at least part of your question.
296397
I don't know for certain, but it's probably the changing season from winter to spring - as weather fronts alternate between warm and cold with greater frequency, there is simply more opportunity for the wind to claim any given day in March.  As the season turns more consistently warmer, the winds die down overall.
390657
Very few mammals actually hibernate.  Only a few small rodents that live in the far north (such as some ground squirrels) undergo a seasonal estivation during the winter.\n\nEven most arctic mammals remain active all year long.  Polar bear, caribou, arctic fox, bison, meadow voles, lynx, snowshoe hares, etc. etc. all live quite well through the winter.\n\nSome bears (black bears, brown bears) enter a state of torpor through the winter, but even they do not truly hibernate.\n\nAnother reason humans don't hibernate is that we didn't evolve in a cold climate where hibernation would be advantageous. \n\nHomo sapiens sapiens evolved in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are few cold winters there (even during Ice Ages).  The only way we can survive in northern climates is through our learned adaptations of technology:  fire, and clothing.\n\nLynx and wolves live and hunt all winter long without any clothes, and large herbivores like bison and caribou don't even have shelter.  How long do you think humans would last in Canada if they were naked and couldn't build a fire?\n\nOur niche is the savannahs of Africa.  People can (and do) survive quite nicely there without much in the way of clothing.  It's one of the reasons we prefer a room temperature around 22 C.  It could also be why we like having an expanse of short cropped grass dotted with one or two trees in front of our caves.\n\nWe evolved to fit into that particular ecological niche, and were able to adapt other niches to meet our needs with our technology.
38974
The real reason why there are more insects in the summer than the winter is because the summer provides an ideal environment for eggs to hatch.  Hot muggy conditions provide moisture and is more conducive for procreation.  The mortality rate of insects also is less because of these ideal living conditions "assuming all other factors being equal" therefore we find more insect during the Summer period versus the winter
497816
The answer depends on the species of butterfly. Each species is adapted to a habitat and their life cycle places the proper life stage at the proper time of year. So each species has evolved flight muscles that are most efficient at a particular temperature range. Early and late season butterflies are better adapted for flying in cool weather than mid-summer species.\n\nThere are several moth species (not butterflies) that live and fly in mid-winter. When temperatures are too cold to fly, they use shivering to heat their muscles up to flight temperature.
749215
Hopefully a cold one. I think with the hot summer and the unnaturally mild autumn we have had we are due another cold winter.\n\nMild winters are not healthy, cold winters kill all the germs.
834689
Summers can get very hot for outdoor jobs, particularly on bad air quality days.  \n\nSpring and Fall are pretty moderate.\n\nSnow storms, ice storms, and sometimes a threat of a snow storm will cause school closings and many offices to shut down for minimal amounts of snow.  \n\nDue to the inconsistency of bad winter weather, local governments do not have the equipment to get the bulk of the roads in good shape when a bad storm hits.  Fortunately it gets back above freezing often during the winter there so there typically aren't any long term affects.  \n\nThe biggest exception would be large power outages from bad ice storms (lines down from broken tree limbs) that have lasted over a week in some areas in the last few years.  That does not however happen that often.
1003049
DDT is still used in Mexico's rural towns on the coast line to control CONTROL malarya. But thre is still malarya and dengue fever and plenty so with all the damages that DDT does to a body, the pests still linger.\n\nI know because I was a disaster relief aide for hurricane victims in Oaxaca, Mexico. The mosquito problem has been a real issue down there and in Central America. so even today when they are still using DDT they still have the problem but its a lot more under control. \n\nGoverment arrives with a truck that is loaded with DDT and a man walking next to the truck moving very slowly starts spraying all the vegetation and roads and whatever or wherever the truck rides thorugh, they spray. \n\nI would not say that malarya is scarce now because of the use of DDT. It is still a very deadly fact in places where those mosquitoes abound even when, Iike i said above, they run their trucks full of DDT and spray everything.\n\nIn Sweden, where the winters are very cold -60F in winter, you would think mosquitos would die and nope they dont. The next spring and summer the mosquitoes and ticks are very well and ready to plunge into people's skin.\n\nSo maybe it is that insects have and do convert, like antibiotics, into stronger more resistant insects and do survive more than any other species.
259766
watch the snow melt! and then, build a bunker for future use to hide from the mosquitoes!\n\nexplore... you know be a tourist in your own town. if anything on a map looks neat, give it a try!
867604
People arent really sure if mosquitoes are attracted to light but one source says mosquitoes actually veer away from the light source at the last minute. To the mosquitoe, the area just outside of the light appears darker. Moths, being nocturnal, head towards the dark patch, which is always just around the light. Confusing aint it?
16319
Many kinds of bugs only live a year and then die off because either their food requirements cannot be filled or because they are susceptible to freezing. Many other species survive cold weather through a process called diapause. Diapause is a state insects enter into prior to unfavorable conditions becoming evident. At this time they become inactive and do not feed or reproduce, thereby using very little energy. They can remain in this condition until favorable weather returns.
59020
yes, bears do hibernate in winters they eat all that they can eat... they also eat soil to block their digestive system to go out the other side... but bees are social insects.... they stay in their hives in winter, they dont hibernate, they just stay there and with the helping hands of each be they keep their self warm by clustering their selves together and uses their wings to regulat the temperature inside the hive... same tecnique is used in summer only they dont cluster during this season..
1147657
This is as Serious Question, especially when tackling West Nile Virus, Malaria, Dengue, all vector borne disease.\n\nGoogle this on the web, there was a recent report about Rain and Butterflies (Slightly larger than bugs) They are also frighten of rain, as it is dangerous to them, the relative size of the water droplet, would harm them.\n\nBugs, usually try to hid from the rain, going into overhangs,  under large leaves, seeking shelter when they can find it.\n\nGood Question.  Next point, ever wonder where Flies goes after dark.
490946
No, viruses actually die in cold weather, however the cold does make people noses run-wiped on hands and spread everywhere, also they may cough more. As viruses die in cold, they multiply and spread in over-heated homes-which are usually sealed as well as possible to keep heat-trapping the germs
760080
How cold?  I live in Colorado and lots of plants survive through the winter.  They are dormant during the cold months though.
313243
While various species differ significantly, the average life expectancy for adult mosquitoes is 4-6 weeks during the summer.
206070
This is a wild ass guess, but maybe where it's too cold for dying plants to decompose.  Instead of mature soil, you get peat.