Glossary

Overwintering is how insects and other small organisms survive the cold, rainy months of winter. Instead of disappearing, most native species remain hidden in protected places such as leaf litter, hollow stems, fallen wood, bark crevices, or just beneath the soil surface.

In the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Lorenzo Valley, overwintering insects form the foundation of early spring food webs. Butterflies and moths may spend winter in chrysalis form. Native bees develop inside hollow stems or underground tunnels. Beetles, spiders, and other beneficial insects shelter within the leaf layer.

What appears to be “dead debris” is often a living habitat. The leaves and standing stalks left in place through winter protect developing insects from cold and moisture fluctuations, as well as from predators. When temperatures rise in spring, these insects emerge and become essential food for nesting birds, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals.

In the SLV, delaying garden clean-up until mid to late March — or until consistent warming temperatures arrive — allows these life cycles to complete naturally.

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