Q. I found this huge pile of what looks like broken up pine cones in our garden shed. What kind of animal left that behind?
… VIEW MOREQ. Can you give me some information about chiggers? Our doctor thinks that’s what has been biting my daughter. Should I have our house treated?
A. Treating inside your home won’t have any effect on chiggers which are outside pests. Chiggers (sometimes called red bugs) are the immature larval forms of a particular mite. They are pale to red in color and smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. So small, in fact, that most people cannot see them without magnification.
… VIEW MOREQ. Different kinds of bugs keep getting into my house. I’ve had ants, earwigs, crickets, and a couple of things I don’t even recognize. I don’t understand how or why they keep getting inside? What can I do to keep them out?
… VIEW MOREWho hasn’t caught fireflies (or lightning bugs, if you prefer) as a child and placed them in a jar to watch their blinking display?
Fireflies are true beetles, not flies, although they are very soft-bodied compared to other beetles. The female lays her eggs in the ground where the developing larvae feed on worms and slugs, which they first paralyze. Adult fireflies usually feed on nectar or pollen, but some species are predators on other insects including other fireflies. An adult firefly lives for only a few days; just long enough to mate and reproduce.
… VIEW MOREEntomologists are specialists who study insects. And forensic entomologists are even more specialized. They sometimes serve as crime scene investigators and use their knowledge of insects and their life cycles to help solve murders. For the most part, forensic entomologists study fly maggots on decaying bodies—not exactly a specialty for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached.
… VIEW MORE32 Lake Ave.
Worcester, MA 01604
47 Thames Rd Ste 6&7
Hooksett, NH 03106