Red Bug Swarm CINP DSC_4970
Saw a curious patch of about 200 red bugs while hiking on Santa Cruz Island in CINP. At first I thought nothing of it but after an evening hike I saw hundreds of piles of hundreds of bugs and I was curious and took this photo.
After searching on the Internet, I found a photo of Scantius aegyptius that matched what I saw - along with a few stories about how they have recently arrived in CA from the Mediterranean: www.inaturalist.org/taxa/209594-Scantius-aegyptius
The Mediterranean red bug (Scantius aegyptius) so far doesn't appear to be harmful to California landscapes and natural habitats; however, this new bug is invading southern California at a rapid pace.
A true bug with sucking mouth parts, the Red Bug appears to prefer feeding on weeds – which could be a good thing! A natural weed whacker! CINP has quite the weed problem so maybe this will help - only time can tell.
Red Bug Swarm CINP DSC_4970
Saw a curious patch of about 200 red bugs while hiking on Santa Cruz Island in CINP. At first I thought nothing of it but after an evening hike I saw hundreds of piles of hundreds of bugs and I was curious and took this photo.
After searching on the Internet, I found a photo of Scantius aegyptius that matched what I saw - along with a few stories about how they have recently arrived in CA from the Mediterranean: www.inaturalist.org/taxa/209594-Scantius-aegyptius
The Mediterranean red bug (Scantius aegyptius) so far doesn't appear to be harmful to California landscapes and natural habitats; however, this new bug is invading southern California at a rapid pace.
A true bug with sucking mouth parts, the Red Bug appears to prefer feeding on weeds – which could be a good thing! A natural weed whacker! CINP has quite the weed problem so maybe this will help - only time can tell.