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It’s been described as a plague and a sign of the end times, turning New York City into the “Bug Apple.”
Insects may descend on populated places in unusual swarms for many reasons, such as the search for food or a mate. But New Yorkers pestered by clouds of small insects this week have wondered whether they were being dealt another consequence of the smothering smoke drifting in from Canadian wildfires.
As swarms of bugs were changing the city’s horizon, layering the muted skyline of skyscrapers with a swirling, street-level cloud of insects, some New Yorkers complained they could not open their mouths to breathe as they walked down the street, for fear of inhaling a big gulp of them.
Pedestrians swatted as they walked. Diners at outdoor patios in Brooklyn fanned the air around their tables.
Gothamist reported that “residents of the Bug Apple want these unwelcome tourists to skip town.”
WABC amplified the city’s pain: “No, you are not ‘bugging-out.’ A swarm of insects has seemingly taken over the city.”
But for every offhand, on-the-street reference to a Biblical-style plague, be it a swarm of locusts or gnats or hail and thunder, there is a scientist. Dr. Corrie Moreau, a Cornell University professor in entomology, who looked at images of the insects, which can be green or white, said she believed they were aphids. Insect swarms often emerge to coordinate reproduction, which she believed could be attributed to the current appearance in New York City.
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A close-up of a green aphid on a leaf. Credit…nechaevkon/Shutterstock
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Click the link below for the article:
https://www.nytimes.com/
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