New York entomophobes, in other words all those who have a phobia for insects, are not having the best experience of their lives these days. Because “Big Apple” is currently crossed by large swarms of aphids that literally infest the city. On social networks, many videos circulate and attest to this rather unusual phenomenon, reported by many American media. And which comes only a few weeks after the spectacular fires, which occurred in Canada, and whose smoke extended as far as the east coast of the United States.
A user thus publishes on instagram where we see these insects coming to lodge in his full beard while he is riding a bicycle. Another wonders, video in support, in which he shows his white t-shirt, stained with aphids. “Can someone explain to me what’s going on right now in New York? At first I thought it was debris from the poor air quality, but then I realized that all these little particles all over my body were INSECT,” he wrote.
can anyone explain what is happening in nyc right now with these bugs/gnats?
I thought it was debris from the bad air quality at first, but then I realized that all these small particles all over my body are BUGS pic.twitter.com/gwjeWwVzcS
— jerm (@jerm_cohen) June 30, 2023
“That means we have a healthy environment!”
“It’s unusual that there are so many aphids flying in swarms this year”, concedes, with the New York Times, Corrie Moreau, professor of entomology. According to her, this swarm of aphids is linked to the mildness of the American winter, thus favoring the early reproduction of these insects. Some had mentioned the hypothesis that these aphids were transported by the smoke or even that they could be attracted by the fire. Suggestions discarded for now. On the other hand, according to Kim Adams, of the public university of New York, quoted by BFMTV, the strong winds which swept big apple can explain, in part, the phenomenon.
Although highly unpleasant, this massive presence of aphids does not represent, a priori, any danger. “These insects do not pose a public health threat,” the New York City Department of Health said in a statement. On the contrary even according to David Grimaldi, curator and entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History, for whom this swarm of aphids is, in fact, good news. “It means we have a healthy environment! Pesticide-free!”, he declaims in The City.
As for how long New Yorkers will have to deal with these new arrivals, Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, from the Integrated Pest Management program at Cornell University, gives a fairly simple and reassuring answer: “Like most things, it will stop as quickly as it started”, she predicts in The Guardian.