(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s bumper crop of buzzing cicadas this year may lead to a population boom in another, much-smaller insect known as the oak leaf itch mite.
St. Louis-area entomologist Tad Yankoski says the mites are tiny, but there are many millions of them emerging in Missouri, and Iowa could be next. The mites feast on cicada eggs and Yankoski says if you’re working under an oak tree, you might get nipped by the mite, which can leave an annoying welt that might persist for days or even weeks. He says the mites are very small and may just resemble a speck of dust.
Iowa saw emergences of both the 13- and 17-year cicada broods this spring, with large populations in northeast and southeast Iowa.
