Those unraked leaves covering your lawn could be a lifeline for Minnesota wildlife

Fall can trigger a frantic rush to clear lawns of leaves, whether you face homeowner association rules or neighborhood peer pressure to keep your yard tidy. But those leaves offer many creatures a rustic equivalent of warm blankets, home insulation and winter coats. Consider allowing a layer of them to remain somewhere — such as a back corner, beneath shrubs, across gardens or in a few large planters to provide bees, caterpillars and amphibians a way to survive the freeze. Here are four of the many creatures that might be tucking into your leaves to survive the winter: Advertisement Luna moths and silk moths Expanded image view To survive winter and conserve the energy needed to transform into their winged adult forms (pictured), luna moth caterpillars create cocoons cloaked in leaves for warmth and camouflage. ( Lisa Meyers McClintick ) Luna moth, Io moth and cecropia moth caterpillars spin a cocoon, wrapping leaves around themselves to conserve the energy used to metamorphosize in the spring. They’re well-camouflaged and look like a handful of leaves stuck together until they emerge as some of North America’s most stunning moths with colorful, newly minted wings. They only survive a week or two as showy moths, with the sole purpose of mating and laying eggs. Woolly bears