Citizen Perplexed as ‘Mysterious’ Green Bugs Take Over New York City amidst Smoky Skies

After a little stroll on Thursday afternoon, Martin DuPain returned home covered in a scattering of tiny flying insects. They were in his hair, clothing, and nose, in addition to his nose. The bugs flew out as he sneezed. In recent days, New York City has been overrun by plumes of flying insects that have become both a nuisance and a subject of intrigue — what were they, where’d they come from, and would they ever go away? — as if the smoke and haze brought in by Canadian wildfires weren’t enough. Another unwelcome export from Canada? DuPain, a Queens resident, first believed it may have been wind-driven ash, but he quickly learned differently. Some of them were flying, alive. He hurriedly entered the shower.

The shocking image was nothing less than a “gnatural disaster,” as one user joked in a post on Twitter, which has been buzzing with news of swarming in certain areas while remaining bug-free in others.

Some attempted to wave them off as they walked through clouds of bugs. Others hid their noses and lips. Some people use surgical masks before going outside.

Without having personally seen any of the insects, City University of New York professor David Lohman came to the conclusion that they were winged aphids rather than gnats based on images and videos that were shared on social media.

In the United States, aphids are widespread, even in New York City. They are tiny, oblong insects with different hues ranging from green, red, and yellow to black, brown, and gray.

Even though there aren’t many experts on aphids, Lohman said the swarms are uncommon since aphids typically don’t emerge in New York City until late summer. He postulated that the bug’s biological clock could have been out of whack as a result of the high winter temperatures.

Lohman looked for aphid specialists who could weigh in on Friday.

Natalie Hernandez, a professional who focuses in aphids, emailed Lohman with the statement that “aphids fly at all times of the growing season.” A colony will create flying variants to disperse if it becomes too big and dense.

Extreme heat and Canadian wildfires “could be messing with them too,” she said.

Another aphid researcher, Andy Jensen, thought the hypothesis made sense.

According to Jensen, “the smoke may be allowing aphids to remain abundant longer into summer than usual.” “In the heat of summer, many aphids slow down or stop reproducing.”

Whatever the origin, according to the city’s Public Health Department, there was no need for panic.

Although it may be inconvenient, the government stated in a statement on Friday that there is no known harm to the public’s health from these insects. “We are investigating these bugs and will communicate any crucial medical information.”

The swarms shouldn’t continue much longer, according to the bug specialists, which is good news for Jeremy Cohen, who was biking through Brooklyn when he felt like he was being hit by hail.

He sometimes cupped his lips and nose with one hand while steering his bicycle with the other.

Cohen, a professional photographer, said, “I knew the air quality was bad so I just assumed it was debris from the wildfires just flying around — which I thought would have been crazy.” Then I started to notice that there were several bugs buzzing about.

While some people found the insects to be annoyances, Lohman was happy to see so many of them.

He said, “These aphids are a terrific indicator that New York is becoming organic. There wouldn’t be thus many aphids if pesticide usage were commonplace.