Clouds of mysterious gnat-like insects swarming across NYC
That was not a cloud of ash from the Canadian wildfires that you walked through
NEW YORK (WABC) -- No, you are not "bugging-out." A swarm of insects has seemingly taken over the city.
Complaints started Wednesday evening, of clouds of small gnat-like insects. By Thursday, the insects were a hotter topic than the smoke from the Canadian wildfires.
The insects -or bugs- appeared around much of Manhattan and Brooklyn just before dark.
By many accounts, the bugs appear green, although they are hard to see with the naked eye.
Some even went so far to compare the bugs to the biblical plagues.
People posted videos and asked on Reddit what the insects could be. Wonder no more -- they are known as aphids.
"The interesting thing about aphids is they are typically parthenogenetic, which means the females give rise to females so their populations can explode under the right environmental conditions," said Jody Gangloff of Cornell University.
Which is what we have now: a sudden arrival of high temperatures, increased humidity and recent rainfall.
There are many different kinds of aphids, most don't fly, but experts say when there's enough of them, something interesting happens.
"Their numbers reach a certain threshold and the newest to be hatched develop wings so they can fly away because they are too crowded, so they use trees as host plants and this allows them to expand to different trees," Gangloff said.
In a city crowded with squirrels and pigeons, the occasional butterfly and even a pizza rat here and there, New Yorkers are already making room for aphids.
"They just get in your face and your clothes and everything, no big deal," one New Yorker said.
And that's just what they are: a nuisance.
"While this may be annoying, these insects do not present a known public health risk," the New York City Department of Health said in a statement. "We are looking into these bugs and will share any important health information."
What are the bug swarms around NYC? Insect expert explains
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