do all of these creatures go? Perhaps the migration of 

 the birds and the disappearance of insects are most 

 noticeable, but investigation shows that many of the 

 mammals also have ceased to remain as a part of the 

 winter contingent. 



The ability of birds to travel great distances en- 

 ables them to migrate to warmer regions to the south- 

 ward, where life is active all of the year. The insects, 

 because of their remarkable life histories, are able to 

 survive the winter in immature stages, such as eggs and 

 pupae, although some of them have larvae which bur- 

 row deep into the ground. And some insects, such as 

 beetles, bugs, and even certain butterflies, (the Mourn- 

 ing Cloak, for example) hide in protected places in 

 the adult stage. The snakes, frogs and toads, being 

 seriously affected by low temperatures and the scarcity 

 of food, are forced to crawl into burrows or cavities, 

 or, in the case of frogs, to bury themselves in the mud 

 at the bottom of ponds, where they remain inactive un- 

 tile warmer temperatures stimulate activity. 



While many of the animals such as weasels, minks, 

 otters, foxes, rabbits and numerous others are active all 

 year, there are some forms which are forced by several 

 factors to retire during the winter months. Some of 

 these are unable to walk over the heavy snows and are 

 therefore forced to remain within their homes for 

 long periods when the unusually thick blanket of snow 

 persists. Even the cotton-tail rabbit is, at times, un- 

 able to make suitable progress under such conditions. 

 On the other hand, the Arctic Hare is provided with 

 large, broad, feet with extra hair growths, which adapt 

 the animal to snow travel. The shrews and moles 

 burrow through the snow. 



-*H[ 37 J«^ 



