Hibernaculum (zoology)

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Hibernaculum plural form: hibernacula (Latin, "tent for winter quarters") is a word used in zoology to refer to a place of abode in which a creature lives during the winter. Insects may hibernate to survive the winter. The word can be used to describe a variety of shelters made by numerous animals, for instance, Bats and snakes. The equivalent term used in English is hibernation, which is a form of dormancy that is a mechanism used by animals to escape the cold weather and food shortage of the winter. Can be predictive or consequential in form. Animal begins to prepare for hibernation by building up thick layer of body fat during late summer and autumn which will provide it with energy during the dormant period. The animal undergoes many physiological changes, including decreased heart rate (as much as by 95%) and decreased body temperature. Some examples of Animals that hibernate include: bats, ground squirrels and other rodents, mouse lemurs, hedgehogs, and other insectivores (including frogs, spiders, dragonflies, ladybugs, hornets, praying mantises, swallows, anteaters), marsupials (mammals the give birth to live young), and monotremes (mammals that lay eggs).