Oh the beauty of this season, slowly slipping away. Leaves drifting to the ground becoming leaf litter.

And leaf litter becomes a winter home for many insects, including moths and butterflies. The Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thybe) is a moth that seeks shelter in leaf litter during the winter as a pupa. Butterflies include Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), which also overwinters as a pupa. Other butterflies that use leaf litter as their winter homes are the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), and the Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) both of which spend the winter in the adult stage.

These just a very small number of insects that seek shelter in leaf litter during the cold of winter. Leave that leaf litter, and the insects that are in their late autumn and winter homes, waiting for spring.

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