As you know, there are swarms and swarms of annoying bugs flying around campus lately. Luckily biologist and bug-expert Alex Wild explains the phenomenon on his blog.
Q: Why are there so many of them?
We don’t really know. Part of the answer is that Illinois farmers grow a lot of soy, so there are plenty of resources to support a bumper crop of bugs. Also, soybean aphids are a new pest for our continent, arriving here from Asia less than 10 years ago.
Myrmecos Blog: FAQ: The Illinois Aphid Swarm
Even our neighbors, Bloomington-Normal seem to be getting their share of the mess. According to a local newspaper:
No, they’re not gnats, and no, this isn’t normal.
They’re aphids, aka plant lice, and they’re just about everywhere in Bloomington-Normal, especially the trail and parks, thanks to a cool and wet summer perfect for the prolific reproducers.
They don’t bite or pose any real threat to humans. But their fall ritual — moving from a plant home to a tree home, sometimes in swarms — has made biking and jogging near trees on the trail “not very much fun,” cyclist Dan Steadman said.
Not gnats: Insects annoy B-N thanks to wet, cool summer – Pantagraph
