First the smoky air, now the cloud of insects. Winged Aphids Invade New York City

New York: By the time Martin Dupain returned home after a short walk on Thursday afternoon, he was covered in tiny flying creatures. They were in his hair, on his shirt, and in his nose. When he sneezed, insects used to fly out. As if the smoke and haze rising from wildfires in Canada weren’t enough, in recent days New York City has been invaded with swarms of flying insects that have become both a nuisance and a source of fascination – what were they, Where did they come from and will they ever leave? Another unwanted Canadian export? At first, Dupain, who lives in Queens, thought it might be wind-driven ash, but he soon learned otherwise. Some were alive and flying. He immediately jumped in the shower. The shocking sight was nothing short of an “unnatural disaster,” quipped a post on Twitter, which is replete with reports of swarms in some neighborhoods while others are bug-free. As soon as the insects entered the clouds, some people tried to drive them away. Others covered their mouths and noses. Others donned surgical masks before stepping out. Professor David Lohman, an entomologist at the City University of New York, had not seen any of the insects himself, but he concluded from photos and videos circulating on social media that they were winged aphids – not mosquitoes, as amateur bugologists had assumed. Aphids are common throughout the United States, even in New York City. They are small, pear-shaped insects that come in a variety of colors, from green, red, and yellow to black, brown, and gray. Though he’s not an aphid expert—much less so—Lohman said the swarms are unusual, noting that aphids typically don’t come out in New York City until after summer. They theorized that warmer winter temperatures may have contributed to the bug’s biological clock malfunctioning. On Friday, Lohman went looking for aphid experts who could do the job. “Aphids fly throughout the growing season,” Natalie Hernandez, an expert in aphids, wrote in an email to Lohman. “If a colony gets too large, too dense, it will produce winged forms to spread.” “The wildfires and extreme temperatures in Canada” can play havoc with them too, he added. This theory seemed credible to another aphid researcher, Andy Jensen. “Smoke can allow aphids to be more abundant in the summer than usual,” Jensen said. “Many aphids slow down or stop reproducing in the heat of summer.” Whatever the reason, the city’s public health department said there is nothing to worry about. “While it can be annoying, these insects do not present any known public health risk,” the department said in a statement Friday. “We are looking into these bugs and will share any significant health information Bug experts say the swarm shouldn’t last long, which is a relief for Jeremy Cohen, who used to feel like hail falling on him while riding his bike in Brooklyn. , he steered his bicycle with one hand and covered his mouth and nose with the other. “I knew the air quality was bad so I just assumed it was a wildfire,” said Cohen, a professional photographer. debris flying around – which I thought would be insane.” “Then I slowly realized there were a whole bunch of insects flying around.” While some found the insects annoying , The presence of so many insects pleased Lohmann. “The presence of all these aphids signals something great: New York is organic!” he said. “If insecticide use were widespread, there wouldn’t be so many aphids.”



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