CALGARY — You may have noticed, the bugs in Alberta have gone buggy because of our El Niño fall.
Many species of insects are sticking around long past the time when they would normally go into hibernation, because warm weather is messing with the temperature cues they rely on.
“This could potentially screw them up,” said entomologist John Swann, with the University of Calgary.
Swann spotted some midges laying eggs Tuesday in a pond near the school. In past years, by this time in October it was covered with a layer of ice.
“Normally (insects) come out in the spring and (lay eggs), so now their larva is going to be there, ready to go,” Swann said.
He added we can expect a big bug boom arriving early in 2016, potentially including a burst of bark beetles chewing up trees, or pests that damage crops.
“It’s a province-wide experiment, and it will be neat next spring for everyone to go out and say, ‘I didn’t see this at this time of year,'” said Swann. “Or, ‘These are eating me alive,’ next spring.”
At a southeast Calgary dog park, Nerissa Goodman said she is noticing all kinds of insects in their yard.
“We have lots of spiders and bugs, ladybugs – I think we’ve seen ladybugs still, even,” Goodman said.
Anita McManus, a new mom, spent the Thanksgiving weekend in central Alberta, where the bugs were also plentiful.
“We’ve actually seen a ton of flies – we were out at Sylvan Lake for the weekend, and there were flies everywhere in the house,” McManus said.
Swann said this warm weather may actually reduce certain bug populations because they won’t hibernate properly this winter.
If you’re wondering about mosquitoes, the outlook for those bloodsuckers depends how wet it is next spring.
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