Could NC’s cold winter days mean fewer bugs in the summer? We asked experts
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cold snaps often don’t wipe out insects, which have evolved to survive the winter in NC.
- Early warm spells boost mosquito activity and can raise late‑summer populations.
- Weather often doesn’t impact ticks, while wasps enter a dormant phase in the winter.
Below-freezing temperatures have blasted North Carolina this winter — but will that mean fewer bugs in the summer?
After a string of cold nights, we asked experts whether the chill could affect how many tiny critters we see later this year. We learned insects have evolved to survive all kinds of conditions, but they still might feel impacts from the weather.
Now, high temperatures in the 80s are predicted for next weekend in the Triangle and Charlotte. With warmer weather on the horizon, here’s what to know about the potential for mosquitoes, ticks and wasps.
What could this winter mean for bugs?
Over time, insects have developed ways to “withstand the winter,” with some species staying in the larval stage while others have freeze-resistant bodies. So even on the coldest days, only a few insects may die off, said Colin Brammer of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.
“There’s really no one cold winter that’s going to wipe out a bunch of insects,” Brammer, head of the museum’s Investigate Labs and Naturalist Center, told The News & Observer in a Wednesday, Feb. 25 phone interview. “There’s always going to be a natural fluctuation.”
It turns out, warm weather also can impact insects. Many of them store energy over the winter, but they will start moving around when temperatures rise.
“Warmer winters are actually as dangerous as cold winters, as far as survivability, for some insects because they’re wasting the energy, and yet they can’t replenish that energy because there’s no food,” Brammer said.
Could we see fewer mosquitoes?
With warmer weather comes concerns about swatting away pesky mosquitoes. Deanna Bigio, horticulture extension agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension — Wake County Center, said mosquitoes won’t really experience impacts from the cold winter days.
“The question is when the weather starts to warm up,” Bigio told The N&O in a Feb. 25 email. “The earlier it warms up, the earlier (mosquitoes) become active, the higher populations we’ll have in late summer.”
Also, if North Carolina doesn’t get a lot of rain, that could limit the places mosquitoes can go to lay eggs. Still, Brammer calls the insects “great survivors,” finding bird baths and other places with just enough water to support their larvae.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services warns that mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus and other diseases. So, if you want to limit the mosquitoes you see later this year, one tip is to dump out the standing water near your house.
What about ticks and wasps?
The course of the winter may not be as big of a factor for ticks, which can attach to people’s skin and spread Lyme disease. Though the bugs live in North Carolina all year, bites are more common in the warmer months, according to the Wake County website.
“Ticks are not really affected by the weather, but rather their host populations,” Bigio wrote. “For example, a large crop of acorns could lead to an increase in mice, which increase the amount of prey ticks can latch onto.”
And when it comes to wasps, several species go into diapause, a dormant period that helps them survive the winter. Though many North Carolinians view them as a nuisance, they play an important role in our environment.
“They eat other insects in order to feed their larvae,” Brammer said, adding that tiny creatures also are a food source for birds and mammals.
