Northwest Iowa — It’s that time of year again. Time for those nasty little black bugs to come out and start biting us.
Many northwest Iowans call them “no-see-ums” because they’re so small. But, according to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach entomologist Erin Hodgson, one of their other names is actually very appropriate.
(as said:) “I know them by two common names. One is the minute pirate bug and that’s generally for those folks that are running in agricultural circles, but I think more urban areas, they tend to be called insidious flower bugs, so two common names.”
And insidious is exactly what they are. But they’re not really trying to eat us, says Hodgson.
(as said:) “They have what is a piercing-sucking stylet it like all true bugs, but a lot of the predatory bugs have kind of a blunt stylet. So that’s why it really hurts when they probe us is because it’s a blunt stylet. That’s just kind of probing to see if it’s a suitable food source or not. So they’re not injecting any saliva. They’re not injecting like venom or anything like that. But some people really react to that probe and it can kind of swell up or turn red. Sometimes it’s itchy, but it’s nothing that they’re injecting in us.”
Actually, according to Hodgson, while they’re a pest this time of year, they’re actually beneficial to crops because they eat insects that destroy plants.
(as said:) “I would consider this insect an omnivore meaning they’ll eat anything so I think they’re definitely predatory and they like to feed on eggs and soft-bodied insects. So they’re considered a predator, but they will also feed on nectar and feed on plants as well because they need moisture and pollen.”
We asked her — why, if they’re with us all the time — do they only seem to “probe” us in the fall.
(as said:) “I typically hear about them being more nuisance pests in the fall. And that’s just because a lot of them are present in agriculture and as you know driving around the state people are harvesting and crops are finessing or maturing really quickly right now. So they’re running out of their predatory food. So they do tend …although their active all summer… they do tend to move to more urban areas in the fall because they’re still hungry. So they’re looking for plants, they’re looking for prey and sometimes you know, just probe us to see maybe if we’re a tasty snack.”
She says like boxelder bugs and Asian lady beetles, they come out when the crops are harvested.
(as said:) “Like a lot of other nuisance type pests that happen in the fall some people experience boxelder bugs or there’s a multicolored Asian lady beetle that tries to get into cracks and crevices. They’re winding down their life cycle as well. They can overwinter in Iowa. So they’re just slowly kind of backing off on their movement every day.”
She says she’s heard insect repellants don’t seem to do much good against the pirate bugs. She says you can wear long-sleeve shirts and avoid the outdoors as much as possible to keep from getting bitten or “probed.”
Photo caption: Pirate bug (Orius insidious) feeding on whitefly nymphs
