PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) - Pendleton residents have been dealing with huge swarms of flying aphids this fall.
The East Oregonian reports Friday that the bugs created a gray haze at a youth football game this week and landed all over spectators. A photo also shows them coating a parked truck and almost obscuring a tall evergreen tree.
Entomologist Ira Thompson at Oregon State University’s Extension Service says these are woolly aphids that take flight each fall in search of a place to lay their eggs.
But Thompson isn’t sure why the swarms this year are so bad. It could be the climate, a change in predators or hosts.
The tiny green bugs are a nuisance but are harmless to humans and should be cleared out in a few weeks.
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Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com
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