Wyoming Bugs-and other creepy-crawlers??!!

[Dinowy]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

I'm not sure about the rest of the state, but this year, where I live, we have an over abundance of Grasshoppers.

Rode my 4 wheeler into town the other day (18 miles) and had to slow down cause I was getting pelted by the little buggers.

Hehe, they've been BAD this year. My aunt was up the other day from Gillette and she said they're even worse down there. Its been a few weeks back I think but she said she was driving by a little grass fire down there coming home from work. And the fire was pushing those grasshoppers, there were so many of them squished out on the road it was actually starting to get slick.

I know a couple weeks back when we were coming home from an auction in Buffalo we darn near had to roll up the windows because so many of them were hitting the truck and coming in the windows.

Now its little moths, not millers but these are little white ones with kinda funny fuzzy little antenna on them. We were in Shiptons yesterday and they said we could take some home with us .

[chad.roper]

wyoming bugs are nothing at all. Come to Oklahoma. We have some beetles that eat leaves and roots and stuff that are several inches long and weigh over an ounce. They have big jaws they use to fight each other with over mates but they cant bite you they are harmless.

[BettyWY]

In re the grasshoppers making the road slick: In Northern Wisconsin, the frogs (toads?) got so thick that the roads were slick on account of them- esp. if it rained and the roads had puddles on them!! It made for a creepy drive home in the dark...
Yes, I've noticed the grasshoppers are more abundant this year, too. Perhaps they like all the rain we've had! We have lots of tall grass here, too, and I have not yet seen a tick. (thank goodness! I got my fill of ticks in Wisconsin!)

[ruggedindividual]

These last few days I've noticed a new (to me), annoying flying critter I'm hoping someone can identify. It is about the size of a large fly, has a fuzzy body and a long black needle/sucker mouthpart similar to a mosquito, but much larger. They aren't quick to react to swatting like a fly, but don't seem to care if you swat at them - they'll just come right back at you. So far I haven't been bitten, but I don't know if they bite or not. They also seem to be attracted to light colors, so my blue FR shirt wasn't doing me any favors today.

I've noticed them between Buffalo and Gillette, but they're really heavy out on the ranches in the Powder River basin. Anyone familiar with what I'm talking about?

[Dinowy]

Does it look like an extremely large mosquito? Really long legs?

[ruggedindividual]

I think it may be the Bee Fly. Never heard of them before, but it sure looks like the Villa Bee Fly.

Bee Fly - Diptera Family Bombyliidae - Villa sp.