Insects

The expected cicada horde associated with Brood X emergence has been unremarkable in the Triangle area.

In North America, 190 species of cicada have been reported. The most common cicada, according to Cicada Mania, is the Magicicada periodical cicadas, aka "locust", has an amazingly long 13 or 17 year existence underground.

It happens all the time, whether owners are present or not, night or day, in any neighborhood. Yes, the threat of a home or office invasion exists.

For the longest time, fireflies were a mainstay of early summer nights in the south and across the United States, twinkling in the sky at dusk in May and June to mark the official start of summer.

The North Carolina Forest Service has confirmed that ash trees on the NIEHS Campus are becoming infested with Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

The State of North Carolina remains under ash tree quarantine since Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetles have been found in multiple counties.

Both fall webworms and eastern tent caterpillars develop into moths, spin webs, crawl around in trees, eat leaves, and can cause homeowners despair.

You either love figs or you just don’t, but to be named after a fig indicates a true passion for this fruit. This is the case with the fig eater (Cotinis mutabilis) that is emerging from the ground now.

When it comes to ants, you may not know that there are 178 species of ants in North Carolina.

Finding a “cat” in a bag, not to be confused with the Cat in the Hat.

When asked to define highflying objects, the responses are usually airplanes, birds, and satellites. What about objects much smaller like insects and spiders?

Was it from “out of the blue” or a case of spontaneous generation that one fruit fly turned into hundreds? Is this one of those instances where you see one but know that there must be hundreds that you don’t see?

How many types of bees do you think are out there? One native species you may not have heard about is the mason bee. Unlike the honeybees, mason bees are solitary insects.

You’ve probably seen a lot more butterflies on the NIEHS campus this year. As part of its efforts to enhance biodiversity and native landscape plantings on campus, both NIEHS’ Memorial Garden and the recently planted wildflower meadows are now an official part of the Butterfly Highway initiative organized by North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

The NIEHS Campus will soon become a Piedmont Theater of Operations (TO) as the Institute prepares for the invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

Imported fire ants and pavement ants are now part of the North Carolina landscape. The spread of these ants presents a safety concern to humans, livestock, native wildlife and an economic loss because of their aggressive nature.

Mosquitoes can spread malaria, various kinds of encephalitis, and West Nile Virus.

Have you seen these brightly colored “ants” on campus? NIEHS employees have reported multiple sightings, and chances are you might have seen one as well. Despite their name and good looks, the red velvet ants actually belong to the paper wasp family.

Cockroaches walked the earth at the same time as the dinosaurs. Roaches can move up to three miles per hour

Have you seen any monarch butterflies recently? Monarch butterflies pass through North Carolina twice a year on their biannual migration.

Cicadas have surfaced in abundance as Brood XIX members (Magicicada species – 13-year return), also known as the Great Southern Brood, emerge in the Triangle and the southeastern United States.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) population in our state is now considered to be widespread with all counties threatened.

Most of us are familiar with many of the predatory insects that live in our environment. Well known ones include the Praying Mantis and the Lady Beetle, both of which are important in controlling plant pests. But, there is another, just as interesting, insect that you may have missed on campus: the Wheel bug (Arilus cristatus).