Thursday, May 24, 2007

Bug Identification

What type of bug is this - Milkweed bug or Boxelder bug?


We've had these pests in our yard, on our house and everywhere else on our property. We'll find them inside and outside. Big ones and small ones. Alone and in groups (sounds like the beginning of a Dr. Seuss book). In the fall they seem to congregate in masses on the south side of the house, where it's the sunniest. Other than being a nuisance they don't appear to do any damage or cause any problems.

Around this time of the year you can find their eggs, which are red, in small clusters on the fence, posts, swing set etc and they make a crunch sound when squashed...

After substantial research (kinda) I've determined this to be a Boxelder bug. This also means that the trees I thought to be Ash are really...what?! Boxelder Acer negundo, (A-ser ne-GOON-do) of course!

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two:

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