INSECT SEASON UPON US; MOSQUITO POPULATION COULD BE DOWN
Tuesday, April 19th, 2005 -- 2:30 PM
Cluster flies, lady beetles and mosquitoes will be invading airspace near you soon enough. Linda Williams is a forest health specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Thanks to this year?s dry spring weather, she expects the mosquito population will be manageable. "I would expect it would be a fairly mild season because there is not a lot of water for them to lay their eggs in," Williams said.
With twelve confirmed cases of mosquito-carried West Nile Virus reported in the state last year, Williams says people seem more interested in the insect than ever before.
As for the lady beetles, she says they?re usually not a problem in the summer. The real nuisance comes in fall when they try to get inside to weather the winter. Wi
lliams says there is no truth to a popular myth that the DNR was responsible for bringing the aphid-eating bug to Wisconsin.
"They were originally introduced many, many years ago in the southern part of the United States. Ever since then, they've been spreading naturally and they just got to Wisconsin," Williams explained.
The Asian Lady Beetle thrives for a few reasons: most live over three years, an eternity in the insect world, and their bitter taste makes them less palatable to birds and other predators.
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