Hello there Explorer!

The past week has been quite cold throughout the whole of South Africa! The cold weather, as uncomfortable as it is, is good for all of the native ecosystems and will be beneficial in the long run.

Last week I mentioned that the cold winters are required to maintain strong and healthy insect populations, but how does it work?

There is a common belief that winter will cause a decrease in insect populations and that it would be good, but this is only a part of the truth. This belief focusses heavily on pest populations that have a negative impact on humans. Mosquito populations tend to show a decrease during the unfavorable conditions of winter, which means that during winter the malaria risk is low. But LOW risk does not mean NO risk. Over the last few years the number of malaria cases has been higher than usual, and it is believed to be directly related to the warmer winters that we have been having.

The other side of the truth is that some species require the resting period in order to develop into adults, through the process of metamorphosis. These insects face an extreme danger of losing large numbers of their populations if winter temperatures don't go and stay low enough. Warmer temperatures will cause the insects to undergo metamorphosis faster and they will emerge before their food plants have the required new growth needed for their survival. The lack of food would lead to mass starvation of the species, which could have a knock on effect on many other species that prey on the insects.

Insect societies, such as honey bees and ants benefit from winter as it gives the queen time to rest with a drastic decrease or even a complete halt in egg production. The resting period will give the queen time to recover and build up some resources for the coming spring season, which is usually associated with an increased egg production period.

Thus, the winter might be cold, but for the insects the cold winters are essential to their survival in the long run!

Weekly Top Shot: The winter blues

The latest Video:

The next video is taking longer than anticipated, as I have had a very steep learning curve in order to make this video, that I grossly underestimated. This learning curve is all about programming, Raspberry Pi and escaping ants! Make sure not to miss this weeks video to see the results!