( Latin: Apodemus flavicollis) Most yellow-necked mice spend the whole of the year out in the open, but some enter houses, usually later on than the house mice, about the end of October. They will eat stores of fruit in cellars or other places. In the wild, yellow-necked mice feed on all kinds of seeds […]
House mouse
(Latin: Mus musculus) Many house mice spend the summer out in the fields, but usually not far from houses. Then from the middle of August onwards they start to move indoors again, and the peak of such an invasion will usually be in the middle of September. See also p. 84 for more details on […]
Mice
When mice start to come into a house in autumn they will usually be house mice, wood mice or yellow-necked mice. Other species sometimes come indoors but they usually do not survive very long. For precautions to be taken to prevent such invasions see p. 87
Wasps
Often when the loft is being cleared in winter one comes across a very drowsy wasp hidden away in a well-sheltered spot. This will be a hibernating young queen
Seven-spotted ladybird
(Latin: Coccinella septempunctata) In late summer ladybirds are often seen flying around in large numbers. They emerge from fields where the larvae have been feeding on aphids, and they gather in hedges and along the edges of woodland where they will spend the winter under bark or stones. They may also enter houses, where they are […]
Butterflies
(Latin: Lepidoptera) Butterflies sometimes spend the winter in houses, usually in lofts. The species that commonly do this are the small tortoise- shell (Aglais urticae) and the peacock (Inachis io), which are seen in the typical resting position with the wings folded together over the back. They should not be disturbed, for if they come into […]
Common gnat
(Latin: Culex pipiens) This is a small, brownish mosquito or gnat, often found spending the winter in large numbers in, for instance, damp cellars. Sometimes it will take to the • wing during the winter if disturbed, but fortunately it seldom bites humans, evidently preferring the blood of birds.
Theobaldia annulata
(Latin: Theobaldia annulata) Commonly known as: Banded mosquito This is a large grey mosquito with white rings on the legs. The fertilized females spend the winter in suitable cool places, but if disturbed they may wake up and even start to suck blood. In fact this is the species that is nearly always responsible for […]
Gnats and mosquitoes
These are normally summer insects (see p. 47), but there are two species which are seen in winter, as they sometimes enter houses to spend the cold part of the year.
Musca autumnalis
(Latin: Musca autumnalis) Commonly known as: Face fly This is a relative of the common housefly, which it closely resembles, and indeed the two are difficult to distinguish. The eggs are laid in fresh cow pats in the fields and the larvae feed on the dung. The adult flies live around the cattle and are […]
Cluster fly
(Latin: Pollenia rudis) In many houses large, greyish flies may appear during the winter. In some places they may occur in their thousands, and constitute an absolute plague as they buzz around lamps and fall into the tea cups, and so on. These are the so-called cluster flies, which are actually related to the blowflies. They […]
Lacewing
(Latin: Chrysopa carnea) With its large, translucent greenish wings, this is one of the most elegant insects. Seen in the right light the eyes shine like gold. During the summer lacewings live out in the open, flying silently around at night, and they are sometimes attracted into houses by the light. In autumn they start […]
Animals that come inside for the winter
In temperate regions there is very little evidence of insect life outdoors during the winter. This is simply because the low temperatures render insects incapable of activity, and even if they could move around there would be nothing for them to feed on. When autumn comes insects have to find sheltered places where they can […]