Do Termites Like Moisture? The Role of Moisture in Termite Infestations 

Although termites seem to be more prevalent in warmer locations, such as Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, the Northeast and New England area aren’t immune to these pests. Across the country, termites damage roughly 600,000 homes every year, creating an estimated $5 billion in damage.  

After years of providing countless treatments for elimination and prevention throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, Catseye Pest Control has extensive experience dealing with termites. The Catseye team believes that understanding the behavior of these silent destroyers and learning what attracts them to a property is the key to prevention. 

One common question is do termites like moisture? Let’s explore the answer to that and more. Learn more about termite biology, the role moisture plays in their habits, and how to spot the signs of a problem early to better prevent damage from these destructive critters.  

Termite Biology and Behavior 

Termites have lived for millions of years, dating back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the planet. Although there are more than 2,700 species worldwide, the single most common termite found in this region is the subterranean termite.  

In their natural habitats, termites play a beneficial role in the ecosystem. These wood-munching insects aid in recycling dead wood, helping it transform into rich soil and preventing piles of wood from laying around. They have a considerable positive influence on ecosystems in tropical and subtropical locations. 

In your home or on other properties, however, termites can cause massive destruction. They feed primarily on wood and can weaken structural elements without anyone knowing they are even there.  

Basic Termite Biology 

Termites belong to the same family as cockroaches, Blattodea. They have three stages in their life cycle: egg, nymph, and adult. They are social insects that live in large colonies where they fall into three basic groups. Workers have white bodies and make up the bulk of the colony, doing all the tunnel building and caring for young termites. Soldiers have larger, darker-colored heads and work to defend the colony. Swarmers are the termites that mate and lay eggs. They have dark bodies and wings that allow them to leave and start new colonies. 

Termite Behavior 

When the weather warms up in spring, usually from March through May, winged swarmer termites start emerging from homes and the soil. These are new kings and queens that are leaving the colony to mate and start their own colonies. They typically pair up as they fly and then search for an ideal spot to call home once they land.  

Once they do, they start digging their tunnels and establishing their colonies, which may remain small or grow to extensive sizes. Some large colonies can stretch as far as the size of a football field. Typically, termite colonies contain anywhere from 60,000 to two million termites. They build tunnels to travel between the colony and their food sources.  

The reason these insects are so destructive is their eating habits. They constantly eat wood, all day, every day. Over time, their voracious appetite for all things wood can lead to devastating levels of damage to homes and other wooden structures.  

Why Do Termites Like Moisture? 

Are termites attracted to or repelled by moisture? Understanding this dynamic is crucial for homeowners seeking to prevent termite infestations and protect their properties. 

Not surprisingly, subterranean termites love moisture. These pests live underground and in the soil, which helps prevent them from drying out. When they forage above ground, they frequently return to the soil to rehydrate. They travel through the tubes they create from the colony to their food sources, replenishing their bodies’ moisture levels along the way.  

That means water damaged wood is like a flashing “welcome” sign for termites. It offers everything they need — food and moisture — in one premium living location. Although you might think standing water damage, as seen in areas that frequently experience flooding, is the only source of the problem, everyday use of water can also lead to moisture problems. Cracked caulking around showers and tubs, slow leaks under toilets and sinks, improper ventilation, and inadequate ventilation can all contribute to moisture accumulation.  

Signs of a Termite Infestation 

Termite infestations can happen anywhere on a property, including the exterior and interior of a home or other building. Although these pests often leave no visible signs to alert you to their presence, routine inspections and knowing what to look for can help.  

Exterior Signs 

If you notice signs of termites outside, there is a good chance they may be inside your home, as well. Some things to look for include:  

• Decaying wood, including stumps: Break a piece off and look for masses of white specks. 
• Areas where wood touches the soil: Check for areas that look like they have rough troughs. 
• Piles of translucent wings: When swarmers leave the colony, they shed their wings in places like patios, decks, foundation walls, and windowsills. 
• Mud tubes: These are the pathways termites use to travel from the colony to their food source and can be spotted on the outside of foundations. 

Interior Signs 

You can have a termite infestation for years with no visible signs of damage. However, some things to watch out for include: 

• Buckling wood floors or blistered spots 
• Sunken areas or lines that look like trails on the walls 
• Doors and windows that are suddenly difficult to open  
• Bubbled appearance on walls and wallpaper 
• Buckling support beams or ceilings 

Termite Prevention Strategies 

A 2024 “State of the Termite Market” report revealed that not fixing leaks and moisture issues is among the primary challenges for termite control. Promptly fixing leaks and maintaining adequate drainage around the foundation can help prevent termites. Additional steps you can take include: 

• Exclusion: Seal off any cracks in the foundation or gaps around utility lines to reduce access.  
• Smart landscaping: Keep trees and shrubs away from the exterior of the building.  
• Enhance ventilation: Consider installing a dehumidifier in crawlspaces, basements, and attics to ensure proper airflow. 
• Store firewood away from the house: Keep firewood and any wood debris at least five to 20 feet away from the exterior of the building. 
• Perform inspections: Routine monitoring can help catch problems before they become disastrously widespread. 

Contact a Professional Termite Pest Control Company 

Even the best preventive strategies can fail. Termites can be insidious and incredibly destructive. Working with professionals is essential to ensure the colony is completely eradicated. Additionally, the pros at Catseye have training and experience, which helps when it comes to monitoring and inspecting properties for signs of termite activity.  

If you see evidence of an infestation, professional termite pest control is a must. Catseye uses a five-point system to ensure lasting results to restore your peace of mind. Contact us today to learn more about our termite control services or to schedule a free inspection to get started.  

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Here we are on April 8, 2024, donning special solar eclipse glasses to prevent UV rays from damaging our retinas, preparing to watch the solar eclipse. If, by chance, you miss this eclipse, well, you have to wait another 20 years and a few months to see another one here in the US. But, guess what, there is another amazing natural event taking place in a month that won’t happen again for another 221 years! In a broad swath of southeastern and mid-western states, the simultaneous emergence of two distinct broods of periodical cicadas will delight insect lovers and disturb many others. Earlier this year we broke the news that periodical cicadas would not be seen in Baltimore or Washington, DC, during this emergence. This week, following a deluge of questions from curious folks, we explore when and where periodical cicadas will be seen this year in the US.

Mud tubes and exit holes like these beneath trees are a sure sign you have found a place where cicadas will emerge this spring.

When will we see cicadas? Scientists have determined that soil temperatures near 64 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of about 7 inches signal cicada nymphs that the above-ground world is warm enough for them to emerge from their subterranean crypts, molt into adults, and flee to the treetops where they will find food and mates and, hopefully, escape from hungry beaks and jaws long enough to procreate and lay eggs in small branches. In a series of studies conducted back in 2017 in the DMV, we saw the first cicada emerge on April 19th near Towson, MD. This extreme outlier was the bellwether for the rest of the brood, which appeared full-force during the latter half of May. The two broods emerging this spring are Brood XIII, the Northern Illinois Brood, and Brood XIX, the Great Southern Brood. Brood XIII is an ensemble of three species, M. septendecim, M. cassini, and M. septendecula, that emerge on a 17-year cycle.  Brood XIX is a collection of four species of periodical cicadas, Magicicada neotredecim, M. tredecim, M. tredecassini, and M. tredecula, that emerge on a 13-year cycle. Because Brood XIX is distributed in a broad swath from Maryland to Louisiana, it’s a safe bet that in southern states emergence will occur earlier than in Maryland and cicadas there may make their 2024 debut in late April or early May.

This video first aired on April 19, 2021. Watch to see what is happening now in 18 states as periodical cicadas of Broods XIII and XIX get ready to emerge in 2024: “For seventeen years, nymphs of Brood X cicadas have been developing underground. While digging a hole in my yard in 2018, I discovered a quartet of periodical cicadas about 14 inches underground. Notice their white eyes and uniformly tan bodies. Last week, a periodical cicada not quite ready to emerge rested at the top of its exit gallery beneath a cinder block. Just behind its red eyes, the dorsal surface of the cicada is uniformly tan. On the evening of its emergence, notice how the dorsal exoskeleton of the fully developed cicada nymph bears two distinct black patches just behind its eyes.”

Where will we see cicadas? Although periodical cicadas will not be seen in Baltimore or the District of Columbia, you won’t have to travel far too commune with these rascals. Southern St. Mary’s County in Maryland will host cicadas, as will several counites and cities in Virginia (see the list below). Historical records report cicadas as close as Alexandria, Stafford, and Williamsburg in Virginia. Cicada Mania, the amazing website for all things cicada, lists these locations as the ones where periodical cicadas will emerge in 2024.

Brood XIII

“Illinois places: Belvidere, Brookfield, Channahon, Chicago, Des Plaines River Trail, Downers Grove, Egermann Woods County Forest Preserve, Elmhurst, Flossmoor, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Homewood, La Grange, Lagrange Woods, Lake Forest, Lansing, Lincolnshire, Lisle, Lombard, MacArthur Woods Forest Preserve, Marseilles, McHenry, McKinley Woods, Morton Arboretum, Naperville, Northbrook, Ogden, Ottawa, Palos Heights, River Forest, River Grove, Romeoville, Ryerson Woods, Schiller Park, Thornton, Vernon Hills, Villa Park, Weaton, Western Springs, Westmont, Wonder Lake, and more.

Illinois counties: Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Cook, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Kankakee, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McHenry, McLean, Menard, Peoria, Putnam, Sangamon, Stark, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago, Woodford.

Iowa places: Atalissa, Solon, and more.

Iowa counties: Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Cedar, Dubuque, Henry, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott, Tama.

Wisconsin locations: Aurora University, Big Foot Beach State Park, Lake Geneva, Moraine Nature Preserve, and more.

Wisconsin counties: Crawford, Grant, Green. Rock, Walworth.

Indiana locations: Crown Point, Portage, Purdue-North Central, Valparaiso, and more.

Indiana counties: LaPorte, Porter, Lake.

Michigan: According to Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org), Magicicada have been found along the border of Michigan and Indiana.”

Brood XIX

Alabama counties: Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Choctaw, Clarke, Crenshaw, Elmore, Etowah, Greene, Lawrence, Limestone, Lowndes, Monroe, Montgomery, Russell, Sumter, Tallapoosa, Wilcox

Alabama cities: Huntsville, Lowndesboro, Talladega

Arkansas counties: Boone, Futon, Howard, Izard, Lawrence, Marion, Montgomery, Pike, Scott, Searcy, Sevier, Sharp, Washington, Yell

Georgia counties: Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Columbia, Elbert, Greene, Harris, Houston, Jasper, McDuffie, Monroe, Muscogee, Oconee, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Richmond, Stephens, Taliaferro, Troup, Warren, Wilkes

Georgia cities: LaGrange, Lincolnton, Rome, Washington.

Illinois counties: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Cumberland, De Witt, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hancock, Iroquois, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, Pope, Saline, Shelby, Vermillion, Washington, Williamson

Illinois cities: Charleston, Decatur

Kentucky counties: Allen, Caldwell, Christian, Trigg

Louisiana parishes: Caddo, Claiborne, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Washington, Webster. Parish information comes from older literature, and might not be as accurate as recent information.

Maryland counties: St. Mary’s

Missouri counties: Adair, Boone, Callaway, Carter, Clark, Cooper, Dent, iron, Jackson, Knox, Louis, Lincoln, Macon, Maries, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, Oregon, Osage, Pettis, Phelps, Ralls, Reynolds, St. Charles, St Francois, St Louis

Missouri cities: Columbia, Gerald, Manchester, Pevely, Poplar Bluff, St. Louis, Troy

Mississippi counties: Kemper, Newton

North Carolina counties: Buncombe, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Gaston, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Orange, Randolph, Rowan, Stanly, Union, Wake

North Carolina cities: Apex, Baldwin Township, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, Harrisburg, Mebane, New Hill, Pittsboro, Raleigh, Waxhaw

Oklahoma counties: McCurtain

South Carolina counties: Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Greenwood, Lancaster, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Saluda, Union, York

South Carolina cities: Chester, Little Mountain, Rock Hill, Saluda, Winnsboro

Tennessee counties: Blount, Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, Grundy, Hamilton, Jackson, Loudon, Macon, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Putnam, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Smith, Stewart, Summer

Tennessee cities: Gallatin, Lebanon, Nashville, Spring Hill

Virginia counties: Caroline, Gloucester, Halifax, James City, King and Queen, King William, Middlesex, New Kent, York

Virginia cities: Alexandria, Stafford, Williamsburg

If you don’t live in an area where cicadas may emerge, maybe you can plan a trip to visit these amazing creatures. If you don’t like hordes of large, noisy insects and you live in one of the areas listed above, well, it may be time to plan a vacation to the west coast. For cicada-philes, you can keep up with when and where cicadas are emerging by visiting the Cicada Mania website and participate in the incredible citizen-science project with the free Cicada Safari app. Another great source of information on periodical cicadas is the University of Connecticut’s Periodical Cicada Information Pages. Bug of the Week hopes you have a chance to enjoy the dual emergence of periodical cicadas this spring. If you don’t have a chance, don’t lament, Brood XIV returns for a limited engagement in parts of our region in 2025 and Brood II will put on a big show in 2030. Oh, and to watch cicadas, you won’t need special glasses, but you might want some ear protection. When the big boy band cranks it up, their racket will be really loud.

Acknowledgments

We thank Chris Carroll and Seth Borenstein for inspiring this episode. References used for this story include “The periodical cicada” by C. L. Marlatt,  “Reproductive character displacement and speciation in periodical cicadas, with description of a new species, 13-year Magicicada neotredecim” by D. C. Marshall and J. R. Cooley, “Advances in the Evolution and Ecology of 13- and 17-Year Periodical Cicadas” by  Chris Simon, John R. Cooley, Richard Karban, and Teiji Sota, and “Combining Data from Citizen Scientists and Weather Stations to Define Emergence of Periodical Cicadas, Magicicada Davis spp. (Hemiptera: Cicadidae” by M.J. Raupp,  C. Sargent, N. Harding and G. Kritsky.

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Our saga of insects active in early spring continues this week, following previous episodes featuring home invaders like stink bugs and boxelder bugs, and charismatic plasterer bees. This week we pay homage to another group of bees that help keep the plant world humming. A few weeks ago, on March 7, male horn-faced mason bees débuted after spending a chilly winter in their galleries. In nature, mason bees exploit galleries made in trees by other insects, like wood-boring beetles, as nesting sites for their young. To enjoy these pollinators on a more regular basis, several years ago I established a colony of mason bees by purchasing about 30 hollow cardboard tubes from a purveyor of bee paraphernalia. These tubes were rapidly colonized by grateful hordes of mason bees. Each year I have augmented my colony by drilling dozens of small holes in unused splits of maple and oak firewood. The bees have happily obliged by filling every gallery until my colony now numbers nearly a thousand bees.

In the wild, mason bees use galleries in trunks of dead trees as homes for their brood. Watch as these mason bees check old beetle emergence holes in a standing dead tree.

Last spring mason bees filled brood chambers with pollen and eggs and sealed these chambers with mud (hence the name mason bee). The earthen plug keeps out predators and parasitoids intent on feasting on larval mason bees. During last spring, summer, and autumn, bee larvae developed within the galleries dining on pollen cakes designed by their industrious mothers. Over the past few weeks, as the morning sunshine warmed the tubes and logs, earthen plugs were dismantled as fresh new bees set themselves free from juvenile confinement. Like many of members of the insect clan, male mason bees complete development and emerge several days in advance of their future mates. This phenomenon, called protandry, is relatively common in the insect world, as noted by Charles Darwin in his famous work, “The Descent of Man.” Throughout the realm of insects, female mason bees are held in high esteem and finding just the right mate is a high priority in the mating game. Apparently, males that emerge early in the season have more opportunity to find and secure mates. Males that are slow to develop and emerge late may find all of the available ladies taken by earlier suitors. These latecomers may ultimately lose in the bee mating game.

After breaking through the earthen plug, a male horn-faced mason bee tidies up before searching for a mate.

For several days, newly emerged male mason bees swarmed around my colony, and I was not surprised to see one of the first females of the season quickly captured, mated, and guarded by an eager male bee.

To prevent interlopers from mating with a female, males guard their mates long after mating is complete.

Mason bees are solitary bees, meaning they lack the well-known social structure of honey bees where a queen mother rules the colony. In the world of mason bees, every female is a queen tasked with providing food for her own daughters and sons. Mason bees provide the valuable ecosystem service of pollination. High on their list of favored plants are some of my favorites as well, apples, cherries, blueberries, and almonds. In a fascinating study Drs. MacIvor, Cabral, and Packer found that in addition to insect pollinated plants, some Canadian mason bees collected significant pollen from wind-pollinated trees, including oaks and birches, and also from the ubiquitous lawn weed, white clover. Upon returning to the cardboard tubes or wooden galleries, females turn pollen and nectar into pollen cakes, the source of food for their bee babies.

Watch as busy blue orchard mason bees and horned faced mason bees enter galleries head first, then emerge, pirouette, and back into their gallery. Is this how they add pollen from their abdomen to the pollen cake?

Provisioning the brood galleries involves an interesting mason bee dance. Returning from a flower, the mother bee enters the gallery head first. She then backs out of the gallery rear-end first and pirouettes 180 degrees, reentering the gallery backwards. After transferring pollen from the hairs on her body to the pollen cake, she departs to search for another load of nectar and pollen. Before each cake is sealed in a chamber, the female mason bee deposits an egg on it. Eggs hatch into tiny bee larvae that consume the cake as they develop and grow throughout the summer and fall. After completing development during autumn, they hunker down for winter, and are ready to emerge just in time for the return of spring and the blossoms of flowering plants. Like many other bees we have met in Bug of the Week, mason bees are gentle and not at all interested in stinging humans. I handled several adults and received a couple of cautionary bites, but never a sting. Nesting materials for mason bees can be purchased commercially and I highly recommend creating habitats for these industrious and fascinating pollinators.

Mason bee babies eat nutritious pollen cakes fashioned by their mothers.

Acknowledgements

References for this episode included “Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems” edited by Rosalind James and Theresa L. Pitts-Singer, “The significance of protandry in social Hymenoptera” by M. G. Bulmer, “Pollen specialization by solitary bees in an urban landscape” by J. S. MacIvor, J. M. Cabral, and L. Packer, and “The Descent of Man” by Charles Darwin.

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Hordes of boxelder bugs gather on the outside of a home to enjoy a day in the sun – the perfect Spring Break for a boxelder bug! Bet you’re glad this isn’t your house!

Two weeks ago, we met a pesky home invader, the brown marmorated stink bug, as it stirred from its indoor redoubt and annoyed inhabitants of a home while attempting to escape outdoors to the natural world. As temperatures once again soared into the 70s, we turn our attention to reports of hordes of another rascal, boxelder bugs, festooning a suburban home. Boxelder bugs are members of the order Hemiptera, a.k.a. the “true bug” clan, characterized by their sucking mouthparts and gradual metamorphosis. Two years ago, a bug-friendly neighbor inquired about vast numbers of boxelder bugs aggregating on their patio and the sunny side of their house. As our friends opened and closed doors, these rascals snuck inside for reasons known only to themselves and Mother Nature. Last week, a family member in eastern Pennsylvania sent images of dozens of boxelder bugs lounging on the side of their house. How did these rascals arrive and why are they now active?

Ok, boxelder bugs are a little creepy when you see hordes of them on the side of the house or the tool shed. (private)

Here’s the story. Depending on geographic location, boxelder bugs complete one to three generations each year. They survive winter’s ravages hiding in cracks and crevices beneath shutters and under siding, and by entering other access points in structures. In natural settings outdoors, winter refuges include loose bark or hollows of trees, tangles of brush, and voids under rocks. During the last few weeks as temperatures soared into the upper 60s and 70s here in the Washington metropolitan region, boxelder bugs emerged from these redoubts and made their presence known inside homes as they sought a way out. On the exterior of homes, they aggregated in large numbers to soak up thermal energy from the sun. Spring and summer are times for foraging on a wide variety of plants, including seeds of their namesake tree, boxelder, as well as other members of the maple clan. Both adults and nymphs feed on propagules of many different kinds of seed-bearing trees and on the juicy tissues of many other landscape plants.

Seeds from this old maple tree support a population of boxelder bugs that sun themselves on the side of a home on warm spring days. Wanderers sometimes enter homes, creating a nuisance. Others battle as they feed on a maple seed on the ground. Males and females pair off, and after mating females deposit eggs in many places, including sides of buildings. Wingless nymphs that hatch from eggs feed on a wide variety of plants.

After gaining sufficient nutrients, mated females deposit eggs on a wide variety of substrates on the ground and also on human-made structures. In autumn, large clusters of boxelder bugs gather on trees and buildings where they become a nuisance. In the waning days of autumn, they seek winter shelter. They enter homes through cracks in the foundation, gaps in siding around windows or vents, and beneath doors and windows. On cold winter days they are inactive, but as winter retreats and temperatures warm, restless boxelder bugs move about and make their presence known inside and out.

Boxelder bugs are not harmful to humans or pets. They do not bite, sting, or reproduce indoors, however, if you squash them on your drapes or walls, they will stain. So, don’t do that.

To limit the number of boxelder bugs taking up residence in your residence, eliminate overwintering places such as piles of lumber, fallen branches, or other refuges close to the house. Some folks go as far as removing boxelders, other maples, and ash trees from their landscapes to reduce food sources for nymphs and adults. Weatherproofing your home can also help keep these invaders out. Caulk and seal openings where utilities enter the home. Repair or replace door sweeps and seal any openings around windows, doors, or window air conditioners.

If you find them inside your home, you might try this. Simply get out the hand-held vacuum, suck them up, and release them back into the wild. It is wise to choose a liberation point some distance away from your home.

The boxelder bug’s clever mouthparts (proboscis) enable it to feed on seed and plant tissues.

Acknowledgements

We thank Margi, George, Anne Marie, and Dennis for sharing their boxelder bugs, and providing inspiration for this episode of Bug of the Week. The wonderful reference “Urban Insects and Arachnids: A Handbook of Urban Entomology” by William Robinson was used as a reference.

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Spring has almost sprung, and with it comes the emergence of many common household pests. As a new homeowner, your excitement over your new beginning and all the possibilities your property offers could quickly be overshadowed by a pest infestation.  

All too often, pest control is used as a reactive tool to treat infestations once a problem becomes obvious. However, preventive services, routine maintenance, and a new home pest inspection are more valuable approaches than many new homebuyers realize.  

Your new home is one of your greatest investments. Let’s explore ways you can proactively manage common spring pest issues throughout the region, which sees its fair share of pests all year long. With more than four decades of experience serving Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, Catseye Pest Control understands what you’re facing. Learning how to deal with pests from the beginning can save you both stress and money later.  

Inspect Your Property Before Spring 

Getting started ahead of the season can help ward off potential problems before they begin. Ideally, you want to arrange a new home pest inspection before you close on your new home. Beyond the standard home inspection, this essential step can make all the difference in making sure your experience as a homeowner goes as smoothly as possible.  

Pest control professionals will look for the presence of potentially catastrophic pest infestations, including termites. These wood-chewing, destructive pests create billions of dollars in damage to properties annually. Homeowners insurance policies typically don’t cover that type of damage, which is why getting a pest inspection is so critical. 

Proactive Seasonal Pest Control 

Once the deal is done and you have closed on your home, your pest journey isn’t over. Although pests of all types are active year-round, many begin emerging as New England’s weather starts warming up in spring. That’s why a spring inspection is particularly helpful for both new and established homeowners.  

Performing a rigorous visual inspection, indoors and outside, can help you spot potential entry points and signs of a possible infestation.  

Look for: 

• Gaps and cracks in the foundation 
• Openings in siding joints and around utility lines 
• Gaps under doors or around windows as well as broken screens 
• Exposed vent openings, which can be covered by wire mesh or a similar barrier 

Clean and Declutter 

Inspecting your property is an excellent starting point. It will give you a lot of valuable information and help you become familiar with your new home. Beyond performing an inspection, cleaning and decluttering is another powerful preventive strategy. It seems simple, but it can be challenging when you’re in the middle of a move. The more you can do to remove potential sources of food and shelter for pests, the more you can reduce your chance of an infestation.  

Kitchen 

The kitchen can be like a “welcome” sign to unwanted pests. Food, including pantry goods, can attract hungry scavengers in search of their next meal. Likewise, dirty dishes, crumbs on counters and flooring, and even exposed pet food can attract pests of all sorts.  

• Store all food, including pet food, in rigid, airtight containers.  
• Regularly remove the trash and keep it in tightly lidded containers. 
• Routinely wipe down counters, appliances, and stovetops. 

Remove Clutter 

Pests seek hidden, out of the way places to hide and nest. Clutter offers ample shelter and can disguise pest activity for weeks, months, or even longer. Go through moving boxes promptly and remove them to avoid attracting and harboring pests. Eliminate overcrowded cabinets, piles of clothing, and stacks of paper. Taking time to eliminate clutter now can save you a lot of headaches and hassle later.  

Vacuum Regularly 

Vacuuming is an underrated pest prevention strategy. Not only will vacuuming remove dust, dirt, and pest-attracting food particles, but it will also reduce the amount of pet hair and lint that can attract fabric-loving pests like carpet beetles. Additionally, vacuuming can remove pests, including mites, stink bugs, and millipedes, along with shed skin and egg casings. This will provide a start on treatment if it’s needed and eliminate debris to make pest control treatments more effective once they are applied. 

Secure Your Outdoor Space 

Your indoor space is important, but the great outdoors also plays a critical role in your new home’s defense against pests. Getting rid of outdoor clutter is a critical step. Sealing any gaps, cracks, or openings that provide pests with an “in” is equally essential. Depending on how prone your new home is to pests, rodents, and wildlife intruders, you might consider investing in a permanent solution like Cat-Guard Exclusion Systems. These long-term barriers offer chemical free, humane protection that keeps pests out.  

Trim Vegetation 

Trimming trees and shrubs will help keep your plants healthy. It also helps ensure that limbs remain a minimum of six feet away from your home’s exterior walls. By doing this, you can reduce the odds of many pests, including rodents, trying to scamper into your new home. Likewise, keeping the lawn regularly mowed will make it less of a shelter for ticks and other pests who would hang out in tall grasses.  

Clean Gutters 

Clogged gutters provide a prime breeding ground for many pests, including mosquitoes. Additionally, gutters can offer shelter to other pests, including rodents and birds. Keeping gutters clean and free-flowing helps reduce the risk. It also ensures your gutters work properly, which further protects your home’s structural integrity. 

Store Firewood Away 

You might be surprised by the number of insects and other pests that your firewood could be harboring, including wood boring beetles, carpenter ants, spiders, and rodents. To minimize the risk of these pests finding their way into your home, store firewood at least three to five feet from the outside of your home. 

Inspect and Repair Screens 

There’s nothing like getting a little fresh spring air into your home. Unfortunately, if your windows or door screens aren’t intact, you could inadvertently invite flies, mosquitoes, and other nuisances to come inside. 

Schedule Professional Pest Control 

As a new homeowner, one of the best things you can do for yourself is rely on trusted professionals. Effective pest control and prevention isn’t entirely a DIY proposition. Experts like Catseye’s trained, licensed technicians know exactly what to look for and can offer valuable advice about the preventive steps you can take. Additionally, you can opt for targeted services like pest control for bees, wasps, and hornets to keep your outdoor spaces pest-free.  

Be Mindful of Common Wildlife 

Wildlife viewing can be great fun — unless that wildlife is lounging around under your roof. The region is home to many species of wildlife, including bats, mice, rats, squirrels, skunks, and groundhogs that can wreak havoc both inside and out. Some wildlife will damage structures and gnaw on wires. Others may pose a health risk and spread dangerous germs. Keeping your home and outdoor spaces clean and sanitized and storing trash in wildlife-proof receptacles can help reduce nuisance wildlife.  

Practice Responsible Gardening 

Additionally, it’s helpful to keep debris, mulch, and wood chips away from your home and frequently enjoyed outdoor spaces. It’s natural to be excited about all you can do with your new outdoor spaces, but keep in mind that your gardening approach can help or hinder your pest prevention plan. For example, overcrowding your plant beds may add a lush look, but it also offers easy shelter for rats and other pests. You might also consider incorporating some pest-repelling plants in the design. For example, lavender and citronella grass repels mosquitoes and other insects.  

Contact Catseye for a Partner You Can Trust 

Your new home deserves the very best. Catseye views each customer as unique and provides a free, detailed inspection and customized treatment plan. From the routine monitoring incorporated with our Platinum Home Protection plan to outdoor services like our Organic Tick and Mosquito Control Program, we have you covered.  

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help safeguard your property.  

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We visited plasterer bees in the spring of 2020 at the onset of the Covid epidemic. Let’s go back in time to that earlier episode and see how these spring beauties roll.   

April 13, 2020 – “Fortunately, before the shelter-at-home orders kicked into high gear, I was able to visit a park and vacant golf course to piece together more details about these fascinating ground-dwelling bees known as plasterer bees. Along with beetles, flies, and butterflies, bees are among the premier pollinators on the planet. Plasterer bees are some of the very first native pollinators to appear each spring. The name plasterer stems from their intriguing behavior of building galleries in the ground and then coating the interior surface of their burrow with a thin, glossy, translucent material produced by a gland in their abdomen. Plasterer bees use their tiny mouthparts to remove the soil when constructing their galleries. The excavation is accompanied by a buzzing sound that may help loosen particles of soil and aid in the digging process. The bee’s mouthparts are also used like a mason’s trowel to spread the glandular secretion on the inside of the burrow before it dries into a cellophane-like coating. How clever! This habit of sealing their galleries gives this bee the common name plasterer bee.

What’s up with all these holes in the ground? Watch, listen, and learn a little bit about the fascinating lives of plasterer bees.

Plasterer bees are relatives of honey bees and bumble bees but, unlike their cousins, these bees are solitary. Rather than living in a communal nest, each female plasterer bee constructs a subterranean gallery of her own to serve as a home for her brood. Burrows are provisioned with a semi-liquid concoction of nectar and pollen from flowering plants that bloom early in the spring. This yummy delight is food for bee larvae that develop during the summer and fall within the galleries. Although they are not considered social insects, large numbers of plasterer bee galleries are often abundant in close proximity in sandy soils with thin vegetation.”  

While exploring nesting sites along Disc Golf Course in Patapsco State Park last week, I was delighted to see dozens of small plasterer bees zooming inches above the ground. While swarming bees at the margin of fairways might dismay some disc golfers, bee dread is unwarranted. Unlike yellow jackets, baldfaced hornets, and other stinging terrors, plasterer bees are docile and extremely reluctant to sting. Remember, each female bee is a mother and to risk her life by stinging a human could mean instant curtailment of her reproductive potential should she die in the encounter. Over large areas of a balding zone in the rough, several burrows could be found in each square meter of ground. The plasterer bees were not responsible for the balding turf. They simply colonize areas where the turf is naturally thin. If you see swarms of small hairy or metallic colored bees constructing burrows or emerging from galleries in your garden or lawn, please resist the urge to treat them with insecticides. Several species of native pollinators, including anthophorid bees, yellow-faced bees, andrenid bees, halictid bees, as well as plasterer bees nest in the ground. Enjoy these beauties and give them a break. They pollinate plants and keep our planet humming.  

On a warm afternoon last week plasterer bees swarmed over the surface of a sun-drenched embankment along the Patuxent River. Excavations by hundreds of plasterer bees created tiny volcanoes of brick red soil along the slope. While some bees buzzed about, others were busy constructing burrows or dashing off to bring provisions back to their subterranean galleries.

Acknowledgements

Bug of the Week thanks native bee guru Sam Droege for helping to identify bees seen in this episode. We also thank Marlene for sharing an image of her bee-friendly yard, providing both a home for these fantastic native pollinators and the inspiration for this story. The wonderful article “Ecology, Behavior, Pheromones, Parasites and Management of the Sympatric Vernal Bees Colletes inaequalis, C. thoracicus and C. validus by S. W. T. Batra was used as a reference.

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Some people refer to pests as a silent threat, which isn’t all that far off the mark. Many pests make little to no noise and can remain hidden even while causing destruction and potentially spreading contamination throughout a commercial or industrial property. For businesses, pests pose multiple risks. From endangering public health to impacting the business’ reputation, the perils of not maintaining a pest-free environment are substantial. 

Let’s explore why commercial pest inspection is so vital at this time of year.  

Importance of Early Spring Pest Inspections 

Commercial pest inspections and pest control are important year-round. However, many pests become less active in winter and then emerge in droves as the weather warms up. Spring is also prime mating season for many pests. Depending on how mild the winter season is, pest activity can start earlier than you may think.  

The costs of an infestation can be tremendous. Not only can it increase operating costs, but an infestation can also lead to lost revenue, a floundering business reputation, and lower staff morale. 

Prevention Is Better Than Cure 

Commercial pest inspections uncover any signs of pest activity. By scheduling inspections in the early spring, businesses can get a jumpstart on their pest control strategies and maximize them. Better yet, this practice allows you to catch infestations early. Preventing pests or nipping them in the bud quickly helps minimize potential damage to the property and the business itself. Research shows that a proactive approach is the key to minimizing business disruptions.  

Protection for Your Health 

Rodents and insects such as cockroaches and ticks can carry disease-causing pathogens, including E. coli and salmonella. Scampering around in a commercial property, pests can easily spread contaminants that could lead to serious illnesses like food poisoning, hantavirus, and leptospirosis. One of the most common pests, flies can spread serious illnesses like cholera and dysentery. Optimal pest control eliminates the risks, protecting your health and the health of your employees, clients, and customers.  

Preservation of Your Property 

Many pests, including rodents and insects like powderpost beetles and termites, can cause significant property damage. Rodents often squeeze through small openings and gnaw their way through many types of materials, including wood. Carpenter ants tunnel through wood, creating a mess that weakens a building’s overall structure. To maintain the structural integrity of the commercial property and protect electrical equipment from damage, pest prevention is a must.  

Seasonal Pest Cycles 

It’s not uncommon to see an ebb and flow in the population of some pests, depending on the season. For example, many people report an uptick in rodent activity in fall and winter, when mice and rats seek shelter from cold temperatures. In spring, many business owners report an increase in termites, carpenter ants, stinging insects, and cockroaches.  

Eco-Friendly Pest Control 

Working with professionals, you can rest easy knowing that the pest control measures in use are safe and effective, with a minimal impact on the environment. For example, at Catseye, we offer the most innovative treatments and operate with client safety and well-being top-of-mind. Additionally, we also can provide chemical-free, humane Cat-Guard Exclusion Systems, which are permanent barriers that eliminate pests’ ability to enter the property.  

Peace of Mind 

Business owners have enough to worry about without adding pests to the list. By tackling the pest inspection in early spring, it’s possible to get ahead of potential problems before they even begin. Plus, getting advice from experts about additional preventive measures can provide a lot of assurance. Knowing the property has a clean bill of health and is pest-free will allow you to focus on the business at hand.  

Professional Expertise 

Professionals can get to the root of the problem, ensuring safe, effective prevention and elimination of infestations. The technicians inspecting the property have a highly trained eye and know exactly what to watch out for when the most minute details matter. 

In addition to removing rodents and nuisance wildlife and administering treatments to get rid of insects, the technicians at Catseye also handle commercial disinfection services. This allows us to make sure all traces of the infestation are gone, and all surfaces are cleaned and properly sanitized.  

Contact Catseye Pest Control for Commercial Pest Control Near You 

Proactive measures are essential for protecting your commercial property and business. Scheduling an early spring pest inspection will help identify any problems before they become widespread or serious. Don’t wait until pests become a problem, schedule a commercial pest control inspection now to enjoy a worry-free spring and summer. Contact Catseye today to get started.  

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With our planet reaching the unenviable landmark of experiencing the warmest February on record and the warmest 12-month period in history, March temperatures keep marching right along with more projected highs near 70. As predicted, record warmth in temperate zones like the DMV means that insect activity will begin earlier and extend later each year than it has in years past. Not only will the action start earlier outdoors, but insects that have overwintered in our homes will be on the move earlier as refuges in attics and various nooks and crannies around our homes heat up. With temperatures now in the mid to upper 60s, home invaders like stink bugs are on the move in homes and offices, accumulating on windowsills, walls, and doors and buzzing about indoor lights at night. Why all the activity at this time of year?

The answer lies in the age-old pattern of life crafted by stink bugs to survive the ravages of winter and emerge just in time to take advantage of bountiful leaves and fruit found on plants in the spring. Millions of folks throughout the nation were treated to invasions of stink bugs last autumn as the horde sought refuge in homes, schools, and office buildings. Many people mistakenly believe that stink bugs enter buildings in winter to ‘get warm’, but this is not the case. In the natural realm where stink bugs evolved over millions of years, stink bugs sought winter refuge in sheltered spots beneath the bark of trees or in rocky crags. Protected from the onslaught of winter, stink bugs chilled out and entered a season of inactivity akin to hibernation where they awaited the return of favorable temperatures and springtime food. Lengthening days and warming temperatures signaled the return of leaves, flowers, and fruit. With the return of food sources, stink bugs answered Mother Nature’s wake-up call and moved from their refuges to the greening landscape. During the past week with warm weather, flowers, leaves, and yes, pollen, exploded on trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in the Washington metropolitan region. Inside attics or beneath the siding on homes, these warm days have convinced stink bugs that spring has arrived and that it is time to return to the wild to seek food and pursue the biological imperative of finding mates and laying eggs. On warmish days this winter, every now and then I collected a stink bug or two wandering about the kitchen or living room. But as of this week, these occasional sightings have turned into a steady stream and I collect stinkers daily.

As you deal with stink bugs this spring, here are some things to consider. Recently, I was asked if “stink bugs breed in my home?” To the best of our knowledge, the answer to this question is no. In the normal course of events, stink bugs move from winter refuges to plants outdoors where they feed for several weeks before they become competent to lay eggs. In your attic or an unused bedroom there is simply no food to provide the sustenance needed by stink bugs to produce eggs. Even if a stink bug laid eggs indoors on a windowsill or wall, there would be nothing to sustain the young bugs, which require plant food for growth and development. Having made this claim, I might back-peddle just a little, as we have received reports of stink bugs feeding on house plants such as orchids and potted ponytail palms. Will stink bugs lay eggs on houseplants indoors? One homeowner discovered a batch of stink bug eggs on a houseplant in the spring a few years ago. So, the final answer to this jeopardy question is yes, they might breed in your home. The chances of stink bugs sustaining a population in your home probably lies somewhere between zero and nil, unless you have bountiful fruit bearing plants in your home and do everything to ignore stink bugs dashing about on those plants.

Another question that always comes up is “what should I do about stink bugs that appear in my home this spring?” Sweeping, vacuuming, or simply picking them up and disposing of them is still our recommendation for control indoors. Because they will be active for a relatively long period of time, we are not recommending the application of insecticides to indoor living spaces to control stink bugs as they appear. Exposure of children and pets to pesticides could be worse than exposure of children and pets to stink bugs. In fact, many pets and some children will be amused by a few stink bugs wandering about.

As daytime temperatures warm in spring, stink bugs that invade homes in autumn try to escape to the world outdoors. Whether they are meandering across a mantle, grooming on a coffee mug, dashing up a storm door, or visiting the beach on a screen saver, stink bugs are on the move.

Will stink bugs be as problematic this year as they were in the watershed years of 2010 and 2012? Probably not. Although stink bugs have now spread to 47 states and 4 Canadian provinces, in our region most people agree that fewer stink bugs plagued gardens, homes, and farms recently than they did several years ago. Fascinating studies suggest that a combination of climatic events and Mother Nature’s Hit Squad of predators, parasitoids, parasites, and pathogens have conspired to smack down populations of stink bugs. Scientists at Virginia Tech found that rapidly plunging temperatures associated with weather phenomena such as the polar vortex may reduce survival of overwintering stink bugs. Studies conducted at the University of Maryland revealed that young stink bugs thrive only when the proper complement of microbes are present in their gut. These microbes pass from mother to offspring when youngsters consume exudates smeared on the surface of their eggs by their mother. Without this complement of microbes, survival and development of stink bugs is reduced. Authors suggest that high temperatures may harm this microbiome and thereby reduce colonization by stink bugs. Maybe our record warmth does some good after all.

With respect to Mother Nature’s Hit Squad, in previous episodes of Bug of the Week, we met vicious predators such as the Chinese Mantis, Wheel Bug, and Black and Yellow Garden Spider as these feasted on stink bugs. Scientists at the USDA found several species of indigenous predators such as ground beetles and katydids attacking eggs of stink bugs in orchards and vegetable crops. Researchers at the University of Maryland discovered several species of tiny native wasps metering out significant mortality on eggs of stink bugs in ornamental plant nurseries. And yes, stink bugs are susceptible to pathogens as well. Scientists at Cornell have described a tiny microsporidian parasite called Nosema maddoxi infecting several populations of stink bugs around the nation. Collectively, weather events and natural enemies are helping humans to win the war on one of the most serious recent invaders to arrive in our country.

Acknowledgements

To learn more about the brown marmorated stink bug, please visit the following website: http://www.stopbmsb.org/  

 To learn what to do when stink bugs get inside, and how to keep them out, watch the following video: https://youtu.be/0kG-2fetbZA

The following articles were used to prepare this episode: “Cold Tolerance of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera:Pentatomidae) Across Geographic and Temporal Scales” by Theresa M. Cira, Robert C. Venette, John Aigner, Thomas Kuhar, Donald E. Mullins, Sandra E. Gabbert, and W. D. Hutchison. “The Importance of Gut Symbionts in the Development of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys (Sta˚l)” by Christopher M. Taylor, Peter L. Coffey, Bridget D. DeLay, and Galen P. Dively. “Frequency, efficiency, and physical characteristics of predation by generalist predators of brown marmorated stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) eggs” by William R. Morrison III, Clarissa R. Mathews, and Tracy C. Leskey. “Field surveys of egg mortality and indigenous egg parasitoids of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, in ornamental nurseries in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA by Ashley L. Jones, David E. Jennings, Cerruti R. R. Hooks, and Paula M. Shrewsbury. “Nosema maddoxi sp. nov. (Microsporidia, Nosematidae), a Widespread Pathogen of the Green Stink Bug Chinavia hilaris (Say) and the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål)” by Ann E. Hajek, Leellen F. Solter, Joseph V. Maddox, Wei‐Fone Huang, Alden S. Estep, Grzegorz Krawczyk, Donald C. Weber, Kim A. Hoelmer, Neil D. Sanscrainte, and James J. Becnel.

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Spring! This magical season is marked by warming temperatures, greener scenery, and blooming plants. After the long, cold winter, spring makes us feel like the world is waking back up in an appealing way.  

If you’re like many people in the Northeastern United States, the thought of spring is like a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, for some people, it can also be the beginning of a season filled with coughing, sneezing, and sniffling due to seasonal allergies. As the world begins to bloom, people spend more time outdoors. At the same time, many pests begin reemerging and becoming more active.  

Allergy season kicks off in the spring, affecting more than 20 million people in the U.S. This year, Catseye Pest Control wants you to feel more in control of your allergies, starting with understanding how allergies and spring pests are connected.  

Allergies and Springtime Pests 

More than one in four Americans suffers from allergies, with 25.7% of adults reporting seasonal allergies to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people associate allergies with pollen from trees and flowers. However, another, lesser-known allergy trigger can be a problem — the connection between allergies and the pests that emerge as spring begins to bloom.  

Although some allergy triggers, like pollen, for example, aren’t within your control, allergies triggered by pests can be avoided with preventive services and routine treatments. Some measures, such as permanently closing entry points with Cat-Guard Exclusion Systems, which are rigid, chemical-free barriers, can provide long-term, year-round solutions.  

Pollen and Allergies 

Have you ever stepped outside and noticed your car or other surfaces coated in a light, powdery, yellowish substance? That’s pollen. These tiny, fine grains are generated by plants to pollinate and fertilize the species and create seeds. The pollen from weeds, grasses, and trees is very dry and light, making it easy to disperse in the wind. 

That makes it easy for pollen to spread in the wind and find its way into your eyes and respiratory system. For those with pollen allergies, pollen triggers allergic rhinitis. In spring, pollen comes primarily from trees and grasses, with weeds producing pollen from late summer through autumn. 

Insects and Allergies 

Pollen isn’t the only contributor to spring allergies. As biting and stinging insects like mosquitoes, bees, and ticks become more active, there is usually an uptick in allergic reactions. Household insects, including cockroaches, can trigger many symptoms that mirror pollen-borne allergies. These symptoms may include itchy, watery eyes, sinus inflammation, nasal congestion, coughing, and wheezing.  

For anyone sensitive to common household insects, contact with their saliva, shed skin and body parts, and droppings can trigger an allergic response. 

Dust Mites and Allergies 

Dust is common in homes and businesses alike. Dust mites are tiny insects that are closely related to spiders and ticks and live in dust. They eat dead skin cells and typically thrive in warm areas like bedding and carpeting. The shells and droppings of dust mites contain enzymes that can trigger symptoms like runny noses, sneezing, coughing, and wheezing. 

Mold and Allergies 

Mold can pose a real household danger. For those with mold allergies, breathing in the tiny spores causes an immune response that often leads to coughing, itchy eyes, postnasal drip, congestion, and skin irritation. Mold exposure can also trigger asthma attacks and lead to other airway problems, including breathing restrictions. 

Rodents and Allergies 

The dander, hair, and proteins in rodents’ urine can trigger allergic responses and asthma attacks. Although you may think that dander and hair are the primary offenders, the protein in rodent urine is the biggest allergic trigger. Up to 33% of people who encounter rodents frequently develop allergies to them, according to data from Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Additionally, rodents can bring other allergy-inducing pests indoors with them, including mites and ticks.  

The Role of Professional Pest Control Services for Allergy Reduction 

Now, you can see how allergies and spring pests go hand-in-hand. Reducing exposure to common allergy triggers, including dust mites, cockroaches, rodents, and other insects, is essential. Professional pest control provides an effective environmental control strategy. An integrated pest management (IPM) approach combining the strategic use of pesticides, cleaning and sanitization, and preventive measures can also help effectively reduce allergen levels. 

Contact Catseye Today for a Sneeze-Free Season 

As the snow melts away and flowers start to bloom, many people eagerly await the arrival of spring. If you find yourself dreading the beginning of seasonal allergies, there are proactive steps you can take to mitigate the risks. We may not be able to reduce the pollen count, but Catseye can provide comprehensive preventive services to keep allergy-triggering pests under control.  

Let Catseye help keep your springtime more beautiful and less sneezy this year. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule a free inspection.  

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As our lingering El Niño keeps local bugs in suspended animation, Bug of the Week makes a stop in Costa Rica before returning to Borneo where we recently visited scary potter wasps, stridulating longhorn beetles, fierce arboreal and terrestrial ants, stingless bees, giant millipedes, and pretty lanternflies.  This week we meet beautiful Marpesia butterflies on a Pacific beach and pretty Cepora butterflies along a riverbank in Gunung Mulu National Park. These gorgeous butterflies engaged in a poorly understood behavior called “pumping.” No, this is not the kind of pumping Arnold Schwarzenegger or Hans and Franz of SNL made famous with heavy weights and muscular contortions. In previous episodes we met temperate swallowtail butterflies feeding on unusual substrates including carcasses of fish and piles of dung to obtain vital minerals and nutrients not found in nectar of more traditional hosts like the blossoms of flowers.

Butterflies frequently “puddle” in muddy soil using their proboscis to gather dissolved elements from moist mineral laden earth. “Pumping” is different. This infrequently observed behavior occurs when a butterfly rapidly imbibes water with its soda-straw-like mouthparts and rapidly expels it from the rear end. In 1963 Walfried Reinthal made the following observations of a swallowtail butterfly pumping at the edge of a swimming pool: “This pumping in of the water through the proboscis and at the same time eliminating it from intestines went on uninterruptedly for about the next twenty minutes. During this interim over two hundred and fifty drops of water were counted …” At a loss to fully explain this behavior Reinthal suggested that perhaps “the insect had to give itself a sort of internal lavage…”  Other observations of pumping include those of Eduardo Welling who witnessed a swarm of about 30 swallowtail butterflies pumping in a “stinking hollow of mud” near a lagoon in Quintana Roo. He wondered if the behavior was related to the excessive heat and humidity of the tropical day.

Watch as a lovely Marpesia sips water from the sand and expels droplets from its abdomen about once every five seconds. An equally lovely Cepora drinks along a rainforest riverbank and shoots water out its derrière. This poorly understood behavior in butterflies is called pumping.  

Butterflies have many mechanisms to warm and cool themselves, the business of thermoregulation. Basking in the sun, avoiding conductive heat loss in the wind, and shivering are all used by butterflies to warm themselves. Respiratory cooling by evaporation and shade seeking are mechanisms used by butterflies to chill out on a hot day. In his treatise on thermoregulation in butterflies, Harry Clench suggested that pumping might be a way for a butterfly to rapidly warm or cool itself depending on the differential between ambient air temperature and the temperature of the water being pumped from the soil. Although I find the notion of butterflies performing self-lavage odd and intriguing, hey, in the world of insects stranger things have happened. Watching beautiful Marpesia and Cepora expelling droplets of water is a strange and intriguing site to behold irrespective of the reason.

Acknowledgements

Bug of the Week gives special thanks to Carlos and Lawrence and our friends Pat, Kristie, Bob, Dan, and Paula who inspired this episode. “Behavioral thermoregulation in butterflies” by Harry Clench, “About the “pumping action” of Papilio at water” by Walfried Reinthal, and “More observations of the “pumping” action of moths at water, with notes on observations in Quintana Roo” by Eduardo Welling were consulted in preparation of this episode.  

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