Dag gnat it! Have you noticed the swarm of gnats that have descended upon Springfield, IL in the last couple of weeks? My jogging and bicycling in the magnificent weather has been spoiled by the clouds of gnats I must try to dodge in Washington Park. I have to keep my head down and my mouth closed for fear of breathing or eating these little buggers that lightly bounce off my body continuously. And when I look down at my t-shirt, covered in the tiny pests stuck there, I suddenly remember the bug scenes from several Indiana Jones movies with terror and start to panic as I swipe the gnats quickly away. When the bright sunlight exposes these pesky little insects, it looks almost like snowfall! What is the deal with the gnats? Surely others have noticed this problem? Is this gnat situation confined only to Springfield, or Illinois, or the midwest, or the country, or the whole world?
The Interurban Trail & Pawnee ball diamonds have both been bad with gnats. Of course the bike trail was much worse. Mostly on the Chatham stretch by the golf course.
The gnats have been so bad around my house that I am looking forward to winter…for once in my life. I’m tired of fearing to breathe outside, and getting them in my eyes and picking them out of my kids hair. By the way… don’t wear a bright yellow shirt outside… this seems to attract them. Has anyone noticed the increased spider activity outside? I keep seeing spider webs hanging outside with hundreds of gnats hanging from them. If your not walking through swarms of gnats, your walking through webs…but at least they are getting those darn gnats.
So those little buggers are actually soybean aphids according to the State Journal Register today:
http://www.sj-r.com/news/x1699593448/Aphids-flood-central-Illinois
Rich Moscardelli, a manager at Ace Bicycle Shop, 2500 S. MacArthur Blvd., has definitely noticed the swarms of little green gnat-like bugs that have descended on the city.
On a few occasions, customers who rode their bikes to the shop have had to brush themselves off because they are covered in the tiny bugs.
“A couple of the days, I’ve been able to look out of the front door here, across the parking lot of Town and Country, and see them in the air. It looks like it’s raining or snowing,” Moscardelli said.
David Robson, horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension Office, said the little bugs are called soybean aphids. They’ve been in the environment for many years, but Robson isn’t sure why there are so many of them right now.
Some people have speculated that the relatively cool summer could be the cause.
“Through some freak of nature, breeding, maybe lack of predators and ideal growing conditions, they are just (a lot of them) this year,” Robson said.
The soybean aphid has a green abdomen, a black head and a black thorax. Most are the size of a pinhead.
Luckily, the little bugs don’t sting or bite. They eat plant juice, and as their name suggest, their preferred food source is soybean leaves.
When dozens of the little bugs end up on people’s clothing, Robson said, it’s basically an accident.
“It’s not like they are attacking us like a mosquito. They are flying there and you just happen to be in their way,” Robson said.
While the aphids don’t pose any danger to people, pets or livestock, they can damage soybean fields.
The aphids eat the leaves on the soybean plants, which produce sugars. When the leaves are damaged, the soybeans can be smaller, or there may not be as many soybeans per pod.
Robson said the bugs probably won’t be that bothersome in another one or two weeks.
If any survive after that point, they will be killed during the first good frost.
John Reynolds can be reached at 788-1524.
Stinging pests
While soybean aphids don’t bite, there are still a few flying pests in the air that do pack a little sting, the Illinois Department of Public Health reports.
*Minute pirate bugs: These bugs, which are about one-fifth of an inch long, usually feed on other insects. Their wing pattern creates what appears to be a black X on their back.
*Thrips: These elongated bugs also are about one-fifth of an inch in length. They come in a variety of colors, and their wings look like little feathers. They feed on plants, but will sting people to find out if they have landed on an edible plant.
*Mosquitoes: These bugs will continue to annoy until the first hard freeze and temperatures fall to 25 to 28 degrees.