Bug in the House

(This column was published in the March 17, 1997 Buffalo News.)

   On an unseasonably warm day last week my wife found an insect inside our 
kitchen window. She flicked it into a glass jar and kept it for me.

   It was 3/4 inch long and, although its general appearance suggested a 
beetle, it was a member of the order Hemiptera, what entomologists call a true 
bug. Unlike the rest of us who call all insects bugs, professionals use a 
linguistic convention to distinguish bugs from those non-bugs whose common 
name includes that word. They attach "bug" to the rest of non-bug names, as in 
lightningbug (actually a beetle) and mealybug (a scale insect). Only for the 
hemipterans is the word separated, as in chinch bug and water bug. (A similar 
rule applies to flies.)

   Two characters identified this as a bug. Its forewings were half leathery, 
half membrane -- hemiptera means half wing -- and it had a soda straw-like 
beak.

   Having seen this species several times before, I had other points of 
reference. The lower part of each hind leg was expanded and flattened. They 
appeared like the bell-bottomed trousers of my World War II seaman's uniform. 
Also an indistinct white line zig-zagged across its dark brown back. Those 
markings were enough to identify this as a western conifer seed bug, an insect 
that has spread rapidly through this area since January 1990 when one was 
found by Jayne Norcross in her Orchard Park home. That was the first New York 
State record.

   As its name suggests, this species feeds on the seeds of various conifers 
-- pines, spruces, hemlocks and cedars. In or near stands of those cone-
bearing trees you have a good chance of meeting these benign seed-eaters. They 
can, however, be a nuisance when they turn up inside your house. Like elm leaf 
beetles, paper wasps and certain ladybird beetles which enter homes seeking 
protected overwintering sites, they have remained hidden in various cracks and 
crevices through the winter, finally becoming active on spring-like days. Only 
then do you notice them.

   Wayne Gall, entomologist at the Buffalo Museum of Science, has written an 
interesting scientific paper that describes the eastward march of this species 
across the United States and Canada. First recorded in California in 1880, the 
species had reached Colorado by 1910, Iowa by 1956 and Ontario by 1985. Five 
years later it arrived here.

   Dr. Gall hypothesizes several forces driving this spread. Increased conifer 
plantings (especially along highways) and the cyclical nature of cone crops 
encourage this strong flier to seek new groves and to hopscotch across 
country. Another means of passage is implied by the sole Connecticut record -- 
found on a Douglas fir Christmas tree. The tree was probably trucked in from 
Washington or Oregon together with an insect passenger.

   This seed bug won't bite or sting but, like the stink bug, it can emit an 
unpleasant odor when disturbed. And concealed under its wings is an orange 
back pattern that is visible only when the bug takes flight. Like the similar 
bright but usually hidden coloration of underwing moths, this may serve as a 
defense mechanism. The sudden unexpected flash of color when the bug lifts off 
may startle a predator, causing it to hesitate just long enough for its prey 
to escape.

   Mark Carroll of East Aurora has created a three foot wooden model of the 
western conifer seed bug that is now on display in the Buffalo Museum of 
Science library. It is a perfect replica and an outstanding representative of 
the woodcarver's art. When you next visit the museum, seek out this unusual 
exhibit.