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March 30, 2009
Boxelder Bugs and Spring's Arrival
I don't think many people equate clusters of boxelder bugs with spring, but yet, as they come out from hibernation to renew their cycle, they are as much a sign of spring as the crocuses in the front yard. Mostly, people see them and ask where they come from and how do they get rid of them.
Boxelder bugs are actually a member of the hemipteran family Rhopalidae, the scentless plant bugs. Leptocoris trivittatus (Say) is the insect that we call the boxelder bug. I think they are actually rather attractive and innocuous. The reason that they accumulate around structures in large numbers in the fall and spring, is that they are either gathering around a place to hibernate (fall) or emerging from that shelter (spring). Once emerged, they will mate and disperse to lay eggs and start the cycle all over again. These insects feed on boxelder (Acer negundo, a maple) and possibly other trees. It's obvious that they do not harm the trees, as boxelder is a fast-growing weedy tree, ubiquitous in urban and suburban areas.
The photo above was taken in Vassar, MI, at an old brick building that had thousands of Leptocoris trivittatus sunning themselves on a partly cloudy day. Perhaps, in their little bug world, that was their equivalent of a bacchanaliac spring break.
Posted by mfobrien at March 30, 2009 11:04 AM