squakmeister
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![[*]](./images/xpsilver/default_icon.gif) posted on 3-5-2010 at 02:16 PM |
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Although this winter has been colder, there will be benefits
According to the National Weather Service, this winter in Kentucky has been the coldest and
snowiest in several years. As a result, their will be benefits this Spring and Summer for everyone,
Specifically, outdoor lovers and especially fishermen.
First, we should see a reduction in ticks this spring. Hikers and campers will not be devoured by
mosquitoes during summer evenings. There should be a reduced population of garden insect pests.
Second, fishermen should be delighted. The shad population in the lakes will decrease. Shad die in
water below 40 degrees and Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley will benefit from a massive shad die
off.
The immediate advantage of a shad kill is that anglers will encounter larger fish. Gamefish are
gorging themselves on these dying shad and their girth will show come spring. In cold water, shad
becomes almost completely paralyzed as they near death, and become prime targets for predators.
Incapable of escaping, a large shad becomes a quick and easy meal for a predators.
Fewer shad should also result in a better spawn. The fry of this year’s spawn will have less competition
as they feed on the same plankton as shad species.
There is an overlap between young threadfin, gizzards and young gamefish for the same plankton in
shallow water during the spring and summer. Less shad should mean better population and growth
rates of gamefish in future years.
Source: Looking on the bright side - February 21, 2010 - By Steve Miller Outdoor columnist
http://myhuntingandfishing.com/tag/kentucky-lake/
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Pourme
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 02:30 PM |
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If cold weather reduces Mosquitoes then why does Minnesota have more of them than Kentucky?
I like all boats I see and some people I meet!
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squakmeister
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 02:43 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pourme
If cold weather reduces Mosquitoes then why does Minnesota have more of them than Kentucky? |
Minnesota, especially in the northern half of the state is sandy and has more surface water than Kentucky.
As a result, acre for acre, they have much more standing water available for mosquito habitat than we do.
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Bluebird
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 03:14 PM |
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Bluebird has attached this image:
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Pourme
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 03:56 PM |
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but my point was as cold as it was in Kentucky this year it was not near as cold as it is in MN and their weather does not kill mosquitoes. They are
like cockroaches!
I like all boats I see and some people I meet!
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Spoonbill
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 06:25 PM |
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I would like to hear the explanation also. The Yukon River at the Arctic Circle has more mosquitoes than any other area I had been to.
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."
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squakmeister
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 08:09 PM |
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Explanation:
Many mosquito species live through the winter as adults. In fall, the mosquitoes mate and the males die. Only females spend the cold months hidden in
protected places, such as hollow logs or animal burrows. When warm weather returns, the females must first find a bloodmeal to develop her eggs. Just
when you're outside enjoying the spring weather, the newly awakened mosquito moms are out in force, looking for blood. Once they've fed, the female
mosquitoes lay their eggs in whatever standing water they can find.
Source: http://insects.about.com/od/flies/f/wintermosquito.htm
Now if the temperature gets cold enough - long enough, some of the females will die and wa-la you have fewer mosquitoes.
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kdfwr911
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 10:12 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally posted by squakmeister
Many mosquito species live through the winter as adults. In fall, the mosquitoes mate and the males die. Only females spend the cold months hidden in
protected places, such as hollow logs or animal burrows. |
Ever notice how the female of nearly every species seems to out live the males? 
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RE3
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 10:28 PM |
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Merely the survival of the smartest!
"The language of friendship is not words but meaning." (Henry David Thoreau)
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squakmeister
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| posted on 3-5-2010 at 10:35 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally posted by kdfwr911
Ever notice how the female of nearly every species seems to out live the males? |
I have also noticed where the wealth of this country is located. It is not in the vaults of banks or corporate offices.
Actually, it is in the purses of little old ladies who play the slot machines in Las Vagas and Atlantic City. 
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E_HILLMAN
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| posted on 3-6-2010 at 12:42 AM |
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I was just thinking about them being blood suckers... 
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Spoonbill
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| posted on 3-6-2010 at 10:22 AM |
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The majority of mosquitoes in Alaska spend the winter as eggs within the specific habitat where they will eventually develop into larval, pupal, and
adult stages. This means that female adults deposit eggs during late summer in the habitats mentioned above. These eggs then lie dormant throughout
the winter until water temperatures are warm enough for hatching to occur the following spring. Mosquito eggs can sometimes lie dormant for several
years, particularly when the eggs are deposited in depressions that are not flooded with water each year.
A few species of mosquitoes overwinter in either the larval or pupal stages. The largest of Alaskan mosquitoes, Culiseta Alaskaensis or the snow
mosquito, overwinters as an adult under the snow, usually in leaf litter, beneath loose tree bark, or in dead tree stumps. This is the first species
to emerge each spring, usually from mid- to late April.
Many insects including mosquitoes survive temperatures below freezing in Alaska. This freezing tolerance is accomplished by two different biochemical
processes. In the first process, the insect's body water is replaced by glycerol, a type of carbohydrate, which acts as an antifreeze and keeps the
body cells from rupturing when temperatures reach the freezing point. In the second process, called "supercooling," the insect's body temperature
is lowered below the freezing point without its fluids solidifying. (The supercooling phenomenon is similar to what occurs in making fudge, when the
cooling syrup is ready to crystallize, but cannot start doing so until it is disturbed or a sugar crystal drops in.) The insect's body temperature is
regulated downward as the environmental temperature decreases to a point at which mortality occurs; the insect dies at this supercooling point. During
mild winters the supercooling point of many Alaskan insects is never reached in their hiding places; therefore, these insects continue to survive at
high levels. The supercooling point varies for different species and life stages of insects. For example, spruce bark beetle adults, which overwinter
below snow line in the trunks of infested trees, have a winter supercooling point of -13 degrees F. The larval stage, however, has a slightly lower
supercooling point of -24 degrees F since it overwinters in tree trunks above the snow line where it is subjected to lower temperatures.
From http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF8/818.html
Maybe the old wrinkled females are dehydrated enough to make fudge out of there blood. I think the the hard bodied males replace their blood with a
alcohol.
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."
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yeahbuddy
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| posted on 3-9-2010 at 09:46 PM |
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The reason that Minnesota has so many mosquitoes in summer is that they are a protected species as they are the state bird of Minnesota!!
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