Experts: Harsh winter not an indicator of coming insect season

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| Friday, May 2, 2008 12:03 PM CDT | () comments

The Associated Press

A harsh winter doesn’t mean there will be fewer bugs this summer, Iowa’s leading entomologist says.

While many people believe subzero temperatures, several feet of snow and ice storms will stunt insect activity for a year, they are wrong, said Donald Lewis, a professor of entomology at Iowa State University in Ames.

He said there are hundreds of species of bugs in Iowa and Illinois, and each one reacts differently to the weather.

“It really isn’t the winter that determines insect abundance,” he said. “It’s the weather at the time of reproduction.

“If you’re worried about insect abundance, be ready to watch what happens in the near future.”

He said the thick snow cover actually may have helped protect some hibernating bugs by insulating them from the cold, but he said the big indicator of how buggy the summer will be is what the weather is like right about now.

“It really didn’t matter how many made it through the winter,” he said. “The question is: Will there be standing water for long periods of time when those mosquitoes are reproducing?”

A stretch of cold weather or a dry spell would keep mosquito populations down, Lewis added.