1/21/2024 0 Comments Hibernate animals insects![]() ![]() Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. Why do I feel more tired when I oversleep ? People have been talking about this Guide Entry. Some Canadian caterpillars have so much antifreeze in them that they can survive down to -38 ☌ without actually freezing. ![]() Many spiders, ticks, mites and insects have developed antifreeze in their body fluids, in some cases allowing the animal to not only hibernate, but to continue an active life down to -15☌. Other animals, of course, cannot live underwater or dig deep underground. This means that a pond rarely freezes all the way to the bottom, and so its water temperature is always above zero, providing a haven for hibernating animals. Because ice floats, once a pond has frozen over, the ice acts as an insulating layer that prevents the underlying water from the worst ravages of the weather. In fact, many insects convert to an aquatic form so that they can spend the winter completely underwater. Here the temperature never gets much below 4☌ due to the insulating properties of the surrounding earth and rock. The answer for some is to find somewhere warm to sleep, deep underground, in caves and burrows. This is fine for creatures such as mammals that can regulate their internal temperature, but what of all the myriad creatures whose body temperature fluctuates with the environment? What about the invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians that are collectively - though erroneously - known as 'cold blooded'? How do they prevent their blood from freezing when the surrounding temperature drops below zero? They eat lots of food to build up a good reserve of fat, and then slowly burn it away through the long winter months, slowing down their bodily processes to use as little energy as possible. The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything.Īs winter draws in and the temperature starts to fall, small mammals begin to prepare in their own familiar way for the long freeze. ![]()
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