Ask an Entomologist

Written by Nancy Miorelli

You know, it seems strange that it’s taken us more than 3 years to address this question! I’ve been doing a few interviews recently and I keep getting asked “Why are Insect Important?” In fact, it was the FIRST questions that I had to fill out for my Real Scientists welcome introduction!

So – I tweeted about it!

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Do most bugs that you would find inside a home able to survive? For example, should I help rescue fruit flies and put them outside or are they better to remain inside? I know most spiders will die if you put them outside, but I’m just not sure about bugs such as moths, larger flies, ladybugs etc. I get worried about opening windows and doors in case they become trapped!

Hi. I live in Rhode Island, so it’s pretty cold here right now. There’s a ladybug living in my kitchen. Can I assume it’s too cold for him to live outside? He can stay inside as long as he wants, but I don’t want him to starve. What do they eat? Should I put him in a room that has potted plants? Or does he eat other bugs? Not sure what to do. I don’t want him starve inside the house, but I also don’t want him to freeze outside. What should I do?

The other day I caught a spider and put it outside. It was around 30 – 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside at the time. The spider was small, maybe the size of a US dime, yellow, and somewhat fast moving. When I put him outside I noticed that instead of moving fast, he walked slowly. I started to wonder if the cold (my concrete patio) was bothering him. Would he freeze to death out there? Or go dormant somehow? What if it’s even colder, like 0 degrees Fahrenheit?

If the cold does bother (or kill) spiders in the winter, do you have any recommendations on removing spiders I catch in the house without killing them? I’ve thought about putting them in my attached garage instead, which isn’t heated but isn’t quite as cold as outside.

During the winter, we get a lot of questions from people asking whether they can put insects outside while it’s cold outside. Or questions about why insects are even inside in the first place.

I think it’s a good question, because it exposes something of a riddle. Insects appear every year, so they have to survive the winter somehow…but they die if you toss them in the freezer. The insects you see inside are moving around, but the ones outside aren’t moving around because you can’t see them.

So are there differences between the ones you find inside, and the ones that stay outside? Do those differences mean that they can’t move between the two habitats, like they do in the warmer seasons?

As I said…these are excellent questions, and the answer depends on an understanding of the challenges insects face during winter. Continue reading →