Where have they gone? Do insects hibernate?
Where are butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies and grasshoppers in winter?
The days are getting shorter, it's freezing cold and uncomfortable outside. The hard-working garden owner started preparing his garden for the winter long ago. Hedges are trimmed, bushes are thinned out and dead plant stalks are cut off, dead wood is shredded, fallen fruit is collected, the lawn is trimmed one last time and the leaves are swept away. The satisfied gardener is happy how clean everything looks, while he might wonder where all the insects that just flew over his meadow or crawled in the pile of leaves went. In winter they seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth. You see and hear nothing from them. But where have they gone? And are they back in time for flowering?
insects in winter
While the insects are busy collecting nectar and pollen in the summertime and thus contributing to the propagation of the plants, promoting soil health by digesting plant residues or serving as food for other insects and thereby regulating the ratio of the different species, it looks more frosty in times very different. In winter they are forced to look for suitable winter quarters in order to withstand the months of cold and to protect themselves or their brood from enemies. The selection of the places they visit is already inherited in their genes.
time-out
So they are not extinct in winter, but slumber around us and treat themselves to an extended break before the "stress" starts again in spring. The motto here is: timely withdrawal. The insects now need well-protected places such as dead plant remains, fallen piles of leaves, the opportunity to bore into the wood of the trees or to burrow into the ground. Each insect species has its own "innate" hibernation strategy to survive in a frosty environment: they hibernate well inactive as eggs, larvae or pupae, they adjust their metabolism, seal themselves off with self-made insulating walls or impregnate their bodies against the cold. Some species even produce their own "antifreeze" to protect them from freezing to death while they remain frozen.
Hay flower meadow - a paradise of diversity?
As the most original form of agriculture, sustainable hay farming has always made a decisive contribution to promoting biodiversity and protecting the environment. The local habitats are cared for by the work of the farmers and valuable resources are conserved. The plants receive growth impulses from the grazing of the cows on the meadows, pastures and alpine pastures and therefore no permanent reseeding is necessary. Up to 1.000 different grasses and herbs grow on the meadows. This high plant diversity on the managed hay meadows ensures that fewer fertilizers and pesticides are required than on intensively used areas. Everything has its time - in order to preserve and promote biodiversity on the hay flower meadows, the meadows are allowed to mature longer and are only mowed when the many grasses and herbs are in full bloom and the biodiversity is at its greatest. Animals and insects have space to hide and always find something to eat. The Woerle dairy farmers accept that they have one or two fewer cuts of grass each summer.
The greater the biodiversity, the more stable the ecosystem and the better it can respond to changes such as climate change. And people also benefit from this with a high quality of life and the natural enjoyment of the best quality and best taste of (hay milk) cheese.
Protection of species in the hands of farmers
As part of "Species protection in the hands of farmers", the Woerle dairy farmers would like to show that species protection and agriculture are not opposites, but are inextricably linked simply by thinking and acting in a sustainable manner that has always been based on generations. Often we just lack the awareness of the diverse services in agriculture or the closer look, talk about it and perceive. Alone with abandoned piles of wood or leaves, old fruit trees, flowering strips, rarely mowed embankments and dry G'stetten you create new, important habitats, nurseries and retreats for many valuable insect and plant species. In this way, the existing biodiversity can be further promoted with the simplest of measures. The Woerle dairy farmers want to contribute their knowledge to various projects over the next few years, develop together and encourage others to promote animal and plant diversity by providing information.
We are proud of what we DO right from the start and what we create together in the future and we are happy about every individual we motivate to take part.
