Warmer winter soils could mean more spring bugs The Telegraph FacebookTwitterEmail Kelly Estes, coordinator of the Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey, is shown in this 2018 file photo. University of Illinois specialists say this year’s warm winter could lead to an increase in the number of spring insects. CHAMPAIGN — Despite the cold weather this February, winter soil temperatures averaged 1 to 2 degrees higher than the long-term averages in Illinois, indicating a greater chance of insects surviving the winter, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey. Soil temperatures were slightly warmer than normal at the 4-inch depths. Under sod, temperatures averaged 36.3 degrees for the season, 1.3 degrees warmer than historical averages but 1.7 degrees cooler than winter 2019-2020. Seasonal lows fell into the 20s during February’s cold days in regions with little or no snow cover.