Where do bugs go in the winter? Most disappear … but not all of them.
Have you ever looked at fresh snow and atop the fluffy surface and saw little black dots? Assuming it is dirt, you almost peer away, until the little dots begin to move and jump on the snow … These are snow bugs.
All the tiny, black dots are snow bugs.
Bugs and insects are ectothermic, meaning their internal temperature fluctuates according to its surroundings.
When winter hits in Tahoe, different bugs utilize a variety of strategies to withstand the winter, typically disappearing from sight. For example, certain species of dragonfly migrate away from the cold temperatures to a warmer location. Other insects, such as the Western Yellow Jacket, die off, except for the queen who overwinters locally by burying herself in the ground.