Butterflies & moths
Some hide as caterpillars under leaves; others blend cocoons or chrysalises into the leaf layer. The exact winter strategy depends on the species.
How to help: Keep whole leaves and avoid disturbing sheltered corners.
Meet your tiny neighbours
There's a whole world underfoot.
Leaf litter is winter shelter and a year-round food source for an astonishing variety of garden visitors.
Tiny creatures, big roles
Meet the leaf-loving locals.
Illustrated icons are playful stand-ins for real wildlife. Whether a species lives in your particular yard depends on habitat and location.
Bumble bee queens
After mating, new queens seek protected overwintering spots in soil, often beneath surface cover. Most workers do not survive winter.
How to help: Leave soil undisturbed and retain nearby leaf cover.
Firefly larvae
Many species spend an extended larval stage in damp soil and leaf litter, feeding on small invertebrates. They need moisture and protection.
How to help: Retain shaded leaf habitat and keep night lighting modest.
Woolly bear caterpillars
Some woolly bear caterpillars shelter among leaf litter and vegetation through winter, using a remarkable cold-tolerance strategy.
How to help: Leave sheltered leaf pockets in quiet garden areas.
Lady beetles & predatory insects
Many helpful insect predators use leaves, bark or stems to find winter refuge. Not every beetle has the same needs.
How to help: Keep a mix of intact leaves, dead wood and standing stems.
Backyard birds
Juncos, sparrows and other ground-foragers investigate fallen leaves for seeds and tiny animals; insect-eating birds benefit from this food web.
How to help: Leave some leaf-rich foraging ground below shrubs.
Snails & other decomposers
Snails, worms, millipedes and other soil animals help break down litter or use it as food and cover, forming a key part of the garden ecosystem.
How to help: Use leaves under shrubs and in planted beds as a natural layer.
Toads & small wildlife
Depending on the local habitat, leaf layers provide humidity, concealment and foraging areas for small animals such as toads.
How to help: Give them undisturbed, shaded places away from busy paths.
🌿 Want more wildlife next year?
Leaves help, but they are one piece of the habitat puzzle. Choose locally appropriate native plants, provide flowers across the growing season, limit pesticides, and keep some natural shelter such as hollow stems and logs. Protecting habitat from fall through spring gives visiting insects a better chance.