Subject: Eastern Box Elder
Location: Greenfield, MO
September 23, 2012 1:26 pm
Here are a few more pictures for your files. Since looking at your site, I have the answers I was looking for! Thanks for being here!
Signature: Kathy B
Eastern Boxelder Bug Aggregation
Hi Kathy,
Thank you so much for sending your photos on a maple tree, a compost pile and on flower pots so that our viewers will have some idea how Boxelder Bugs look when they create a large aggregation. These aggregations generally appear on warm, sunny autumn days in sunny, south-facing locations. They tend to prefer light colored locations, probably because of the light reflection. Because of these aggregations, Eastern Boxelder Bugs are also known as Politician Bugs, Populist Bugs or Democrat Bugs.
Eastern Boxelder Bug Aggregation
Readers who want an example of what an individual Boxelder Bug looks like can see this image of a winged adult from our archive or this image of an immature nymph from our archive.
Eastern Boxelder Bug Aggregation
I like ThisRelated posts:
Seems that we have a problem with the Eastern Boxelder Bug here in California. These seem to congregate on the young melba plants out in the pasture or on the pipe fence. Are they harmful to animals and people? My chickens won’t eat them as I figure it must be because of their red color. We have been in a sever drought here which makes me think that is what has brought them on. We have had a variety of different bugs the last few years which seems to go in cycles for the amount of dry we have. Can you give anymore of an insight as to how to treat the areas to discourage them around the house. If they are in the pasture which is a ways away from the house it doesn’t bother me unless they will harm the horses.
Though BugGuide does not list Eastern Boxelder Bugs in California, there have been sightings in Nevada, so it is possible that you have had a California encounter, though we feel the Western Boxelder Bug or the Red Shouldered Bug, both of which are related and look similar, are more plausible culprits.