What Is This #AZCritter? Giant Mesquite Bugs
What Is This #AZCritter? is a new digital series from the Arizona Science Desk that wants to help you identify and learn more about interesting Arizona animals.
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What Is This #AZCritter?
Trevor H. snapped this photo of beetles hanging out on a mesquite tree.
What Is It?
These are giant mesquite bugs. We reached out to Dawn Gouge, an urban entomologist at the University of Arizona, for more about the colorful insect.
Where Do They Live?
“The bugs are very common in desert southwest landscapes,” said Gouge. "They usually hang out higher up in trees but move down the trunks to 'eye-level' to escape high heat.”
The bugs tolerate the heat and only on get noticed when they move down onto trunks on high-heat days.
Are They Dangerous?
Harmless to humans and trees, giant mesquite bugs are the “largest true bug” in the desert Southwest. They over-winter as eggs glued in rows along mesquite stems, Gouge said. The eggs hatch in spring and feed and grow through the spring and summer.
“It’s quite a treat to see clusters of brightly colored nymphs along with the darker colored adults. Entomologists get quite excited, although they can cause a little general public alarm,” she said.
