Bugs and Bugsicles

January 11, 2013 by Sue Heavenrich 3 Comments

Bugs and Bugsicles: Insects in the Winter

By Amy Hansen; illustrated by Robert C. Kray

32 pages, ages 7-9; Boyds Mills Press

Unlike the grasshopper of Aesop’s Fables fame, many insects begin their winter preparations while the weather is still warm. In late summer Monarch butterflies get ready to fly to Mexico, honeybees cap off their cells full of pollen and nectar, and ants stockpile seeds of all sorts and sizes.

Dragonfly nymphs curl up in the mud. Not only does the mud protect nymphs from cold, but it hides the nymphs from hungry fish. Ladybugs are more gregarious – they snuggle in hidden ladybug clusters until spring returns.

Then there are the bugs that go into “diapause” – a state of dormancy that allows them to survive temperature extremes – and others that simply freeze, turning into bugsicles, like the Arctic Woolly Bear caterpillar that Amy Hansen writes about in Bugs and Bugsicles.

Hansen provides detailed notes on how the Woolly Bear pulls off its bugsicle act, and includes two hands-on investigations perfect for playing around with next time it’s too frigid for playing outside.

You can check out more about bugsicles and insect antifreeze over at Archimedes Notebook. Review copy provided by publisher.

Check out what other bloggers are posting today:

learn how animal parents carry their young over at Sally’s Bookshelf.

 

 

Wrapped in Foil reviews a book about peculiar plants.

 

 

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