The obvious coexistence question does not have to do with communism and capitalism. Instead it is concerned with people and insects, particularly boxelder bugs, and it goes like this: Can they, the people and the bugs, live in the same house, not only during the Indian summer days of autumn but through the cold, unfriendly winter and on into the furtive spring?
As this is written, a boxelder bug patrols along the dust jacket of a book over near the telephone. The book`s title is ”Butterflies in My Stomach,” and in it the author, Ronald Taylor, writes about how people all over the world eat insects and how we probably will be eating more of them as the world`s food supply tightens up.
So the boxelder bug had better watch it or it may find itself adapted to author Taylor`s recipe for grasshopper fritters: ”Pluck off wings and legs
(heads optional). Dip insects in an egg batter and deep fry. Salt and serve.”
In the unlikely event that you have not met or are not now living with a boxelder bug, they are rather friendly looking creatures about a half an inch long, black trimmed in red, with short antennae and tiny red eyes that stick out like little headlights. If the boxelder bug were a car it would be a 1938 Chevrolet, chopped and painted with candy apple stripes by an 18-year-old hot- rodder.
As most of us know-exceptions might be those living in high rises or on submarines-the boxelder bugs assembled on our doorsteps last fall by the millions and slowly made their way into the house until there seemed to be enough of them lurking behind the drapes and under the couch to take up the mortgage payments in case we couldn`t make them.
They seemed at first to be inoffensive critters, and a quick call to entomologist Fred Miller confirmed that. Miller, who is with the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service in Oak Brook, said boxelder bugs will not eat your furniture, they will not bite you, and they will not get into your food.
What the bugs will do is hide most of the time, and every day when it gets warm and light enough in your house some of them will come out of hiding to see if it is spring yet. Assuming that the heat from your furnace is spring, they will gravitate to sources of light-lamps and windows-thinking that it is time for them to go out and start eating boxelder trees again.
Ha! It is the dead of winter and no bug in its right mind is going to stir from the cozy warmth of the drapes; so back they go until the next day.
Early on, some of us adapted a charitable attitude toward the boxelder bugs. Since there didn`t seem of be any way to get rid of them, we decided to live in harmony with them. There is a point, however, at which a line must be drawn. Permit a personal note: Working at my desk one day, two boxelder bugs emerged from hiding and proceeded to march back and forth across my word processor making it impossible to concentrate. Picking up a bug in each hand, I headed for the door to throw them out of the house, and as I rounded a corner in the hall, I slipped on one of those slippery newspaper supplements that was waiting to be taken out with the trash. I fell onto the slate floor with such force that my elbows were skinned to the bone, and my head struck the side of the door frame so that I saw stars.
Dave Shangle, director of technical services for the Anderson Pest Control office in Downers Grove, which serves the western suburbs, said that when people learn that the boxelder bug is harmless, most of them-the people, that is-try to eliminate as many of the bugs as possible and then live with the rest.
”Don`t crush them because they can leave a stain,” Shangle said. ”It`s best to vacuum them up with the vacuum cleaner.”
While the boxelder bug may get most of your winter bug attention, a few other six-legged ”friends” may show up, Miller said. Among them are the Indian meal moth and the cigarette beetle, both of which may come to live with you when you inadvertently bring them home from the grocery store.
The Indian meal moth, Miller said, is 1/4 to 3/8 inch long, the outer two-thirds of its wings are copper colored, and it folds its wings over its back like a tent.
”This insect is often found in bird seed,” Miller said, ”and unless people are careful, it can infest other grain foods from this source.”
The larva, which is cream colored and with a dark brown head, is what you may find in such foods as cereal, oatmeal and pancake mix.
”If you open a package and find a fine silk webbing over the top of it, this means there are insects in it,” Miller said.
The cigarette beetle, which Miller said takes its name from first being found around tobacco warehouses, is found in spices, seasonings, teas and pepper. The beetle itself is 1/8 inch long and red-brown in color. The larva is about the same length and is cream colored.
Neither of these insects carry disease, but Miller said that unless you don`t mind a little extra protein with some of your grain food, you will probably want to get rid of them. This may mean discarding all grain food in the house and throughly cleaning cupboards and kitchen where insect eggs might have been laid.
Jim Schuster, adviser at the Du Page County Cooperative Extension office in Wheaton, said that other species of beetles and weevils may infest food in the winter.
”All of these insects like to lay their eggs in tight cracks, and it can be very difficult to get rid of them,” Schuster said. ”The life cycle can be as long as six months, and so it is important to sanitize very carefully in order to kill the eggs.”
The larvae that hatch from the eggs are so small, Schuster said, that they have no trouble getting into a sealed cereal box.
”The openings in the glued lids are like barn doors to the larvae,”
Schuster said. ”And the sealed bags inside the cereal boxes don`t stop them either.”
Another insect that comes in for the winter in the style of the boxelder bug is the alfalfa mite, Schuster said. The mites come in from areas of tall grass and once in the house appear as tiny red spots moving about on the wall or the drapes.
”They are harmless,” Schuster said, ”unless you object to seeing them.”
Ants may also show up in the house during the winter. Usually they are from nests in the soil under the foundation or concrete slab. These are usually small, less than a quarter of an inch long, and generally harmless, Shangle said.
”An ant over a quarter of an inch long is probably a carpenter ant,”
Shangle said, ”and if you see them in the winter, chances are you have an infestation somewhere in your house. A likely place is the hollow between the floor of the cupboard under the sink and the room floor.”
”Don`t panic,” Shangle said, ”they are not like termites and will not eat your house up in a day or so. But you will probably want to eliminate them, most effectively with professional help, of course.”
The winter may also produce concentrations of cluster flies, most often in larger buildings, Shangle said. Like the boxelder bug, they have come in to spend the winter, and they are relatively harmless. They look like a common housefly, but have fine, golden hair on their back, Shangle said.
And then there are the fleas that some of us with pets sometimes find sharing our winter quarters. Getting rid of them can mean a long bothersome process of working with the veterinarian and pest control professionals.
The fleas lay their eggs on the pet, Shangle said, and the eggs fall off and hatch in the carpet or upholstery. The most effective control uses both fast-acting and residual insecticides as well as a growth regulator that keeps the insect from reaching maturity.
Shangle cautioned that if you leave on a winter vacation, you may return to a hungry bunch of newly hatched fleas that have been denied access to your pet; so they settle for second best-you.
”Hungry fleas are not too fussy about their host,” he said.
Most of us also provide winter housing for spiders, which are around to feed on the insects that live with us.
”Most of the spiders are beneficial,” Miller said, ”and they wouldn`t be around if there weren`t insects for them to live on.”
One exception is the brown recluse spider, which shows up occasionally in the area. This spider`s bite is poisonous, and its effect varies greatly depending on where the bite is inflicted, the amount of toxin involved and the person`s reaction to insect bites.
”The recluse spider is readily indentified by the fiddle-shaped marking on its back,” Miller said. ”It is about the size of a half dollar, including its legs, and is found hiding in places of little activity. You might find one in a pair of shoes you haven`t worn for a long time or a jacket that has been hanging in the closet.”
The recluse spider bite should be treated the same as a sting from a bee or other insect, Miller said.
Entomologists report that there is an increase in calls concerning problems with silverfish and cockroaches during the winter. They agree, however, that this may not mean more of these disagreeable guests, but simply the fact that people are spending more time indoors and the nights are longer, making the nocturnal creatures more visible.
Insects, of course, have been bugging humans in their dwelling place since the first couple moved into a cave, probably to seek protection from the Midwest winter. Shortly thereafter, the word entomophobia, which means fear of insects, entered the vocabulary. In severe cases, entomophobia can be disabling, causing victims to imagine that they are being attacked by insects. As population density increases in northern climate zones and more and more space is heated for human habitation, there will likely be an increase in the number of insects that seek warm places to ride out the winter.
That means that given the dry conditions that favor insect populations, such as those that prevailed last summer, we can expect even more boxelder bugs coming in to winter with us.
If that is the case, then perhaps thought should be given to making some use of them, even beyond boxelder bug fritters. Perhaps they can be tethered on tiny chains to become living lapel pins or maybe they are trainable to the extent that they can be taught to fly into the drinks of visiting relatives who have overstayed their welcome.
There is, too, the possibility that in the grand scheme of things, the boxelder bugs are destined to take over the world, our houses first and then our government buildings and our stores. It is something to think about, particularly since the one crawling on the copy of ”Butterflies in My Stomach” flew off purposefully and landed on TV Week.
