Wasps & Other Flying Insects in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is home to several different types of flying insects such as the lady bug, wood wasp, summer fruit tortrix moth and the giant wood wasp. These flying insects don't mean any harm to anyone, but can be a pest if they're in homes or business structures building nests and laying their eggs inside.
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Lady Bugs
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Lady bugs are the Massachusetts state bugs. They are also known as lady beetles and lady flies. Lady bugs are red with tiny black dots all over their wings. Lady bugs have a pair of antennae and are no bigger than ¼ inch in length. These are good bugs because eat bad soft bugs and larva in gardens. Some of the pests lady bugs eat are mealy bugs, mites and scales. Lady bugs do not sting, but when birds or other animals try to eat them they secrete a fluid from their joints that tastes bad.
Wood Wasp
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Wood wasps are also known as horntail wasps. These insects make their homes and lay eggs in dead conifer trees and old building structures. These wasps are 1 to 2 inches in length and are blackish blue with red and yellow striped bodies. When wood wasps fly they make buzzing noises which can be disturbing to humans and animals, but they do not sting.
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Summer Fruit Tortrix Moths
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The summer fruit tortrix moths are brownish white with fuzzy bodies and curled antennae. They tend to eat on apple, pear and peach trees in orchards and farms. These moths lay their larva in trees and when the larvae hatch into caterpillars, the caterpillars feed on the trees and become destructive to the orchards.
Light Brown Apple Moth
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The light brown apple moth is about 2 cm in size. It has brownish yellow wings and red markings near the end of its wings. They tend to feed off of fruit and vegetable plants and buds. They also lay their eggs in gardens and orchards where apple and pear trees grow. Sometimes you can find these moths in grape vines.
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References
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