Sunday, September 26, 2010

Fall Fairy (Bugs)

We had a blast last night, playing with a bunch of "fairy flies", or woolly aphids, as I think they're more properly known.

When you catch them, they look kind of like hairy flies. Though, the white fluff is not hair, but rather a waxy excretion.

When they are flying they look like tiny fairies in the air, thus their nickname - they are also sometimes called "fluff bugs", or even "fuzz-butts".


They only grow wings in the fall (or sometimes in late summer), when they are migrating to the trees where they will lay their eggs for the winter. As I understand it, they are relatively harmless, as aphids go, and are food for many beneficial insects. So, if you run into a bunch, don't worry about "dealing" with them - just enjoy the wonder filled show of these flying, fuzzy, fairies of fall.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

5 comments:

Christy Killoran said...

I don't think I have ever seen these before. Interesting.

Ticia said...

Those look like they bite, but they must not because you're actively trying to catch them.

We don't have anything like that here.

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Ticia - I think they can bite, but they are pretty tiny, so we weren't too worried.

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

I also don't think I've ever seen those before. In my mind fairies are slightly more attractive, but I am not a big fan of bugs in principle.

Phyllis said...

We don't have those in our area. Thanks for sharing them with us.