Animals in the Winter
Do you think that winter is too cold? Well, maybe you should do as many birds do and fly south for the winter! The rest of us left behind in Uppland must do as the voles do, and lay a thick blanket over us. Though, the voles’ blanket is made of snow. It lives in its underground pathways beneath the snow, which protects it from the cold. There are also even smaller animals that hide themselves in the ground: many insects also sleep here. Did you know that the queen of the bumblebees is the only one who survives the winter?
The male bumblebee has a tough time in the late summer. His only task is to mate with a queen bee. Then he will die, along with all the other worker bees who have worked hard all summer collecting pollen and nectar. The queen stays safe in some shielded place, and wakes up in the spring. She builds a nest in an old vole’s hole and lays her eggs, which grow up into next year’s worker bees, and later in the year, new males and queens.
Photo: FotoFinnaren
Wikipedia article on bumblebees