INSECTS

The study consisted of 64 volunteers wearing nylon sleeves and being exposed to a variety of mosquitos on their arms in a glass chamber for six hours.

Agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection intercepted an “invasive” longhorn beetle at the Roma Port of Entry earlier this month.

Scientists say light pollution is a factor driving "worrying" declines in local insect populations.

“They sometimes just decide to swarm in large numbers,” a San Antonio-area entomologist said.

The National Museum of Natural History keeps millions of specimens, artifacts and other items for research.

Cicadas are poised to infest whole swaths of American backyards this summer. Maybe it’s time they invaded your kitchen.

SAN ANTONIO – We’ve seen how the February freeze hurt our plant, bat and fish populations, but how will it impact our insects? Molly Keck, an entomologist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County, says for most local insects the freeze won’t impact them. And to answer the question about the pesky mosquitos....she says no, the freeze didn’t kill all the mosquitos and fleas. “What usually affects them more than constant cold weather is when we have up and down cold snaps and it warms up. She says if we have a wet spring, we’ll see more mosquitos, ticks and fleas.

Texas Parks and Wildlife shared an image on Facebook and asked residents to guess its origins. Instead, TPW says it appears to be a nest of Mexican honey wasps, which are native to Texas. Similar to bees, these wasps produce honey and are considered a “beneficial insect due to their pollination services,” TPW officials say. There are technically 16 different species of Mexican honey wasps; however, there’s only one species that can be found in the state, according to TPW. RELATED: That’s not trash on Texas beaches - it’s a living creature, Padre Island National Seashore officials say

The world’s top bug experts say that insects are quickly declining in population and this can be dangerous to human population. Climate change, insecticides, herbicides, light pollution, invasive species and habit loss are the causes behind the one to two percent decline in insects every year, entomologists say. “Insects are the fabric by which mother nature and the tree of life are built,” Wagner said. This rapid loss of the world’s insects is problematic because scientists say insects pollinate the world’s foods, they are crucial to the food chain and get rid of wastes. Scientists say there is hope.

SAN ANTONIO – When you get bit by a kissing bug, you may not even know it because the bite isn’t very painful. But experts with Texas A&M AgriLife Research say that bite can affect you down the road because kissing bugs are known to spread Chagas disease. Chagas is caused by a parasite in blood-feeding insects, like kissing bugs. Kissing bugs, when fully grown, are about an inch long and they can live for about a year. To prevent kissing bugs from hanging around your home, clear out any brush or areas where rodents or critters hang around, which are what the bugs feed on.

Researchers said they’ve already collected over 300 kissing bug specimens in one location, where just last year, they only found six. Kissing bugs can grow to be longer than the width of a penny and both their heads and mouths are cone-shaped. Kissing bug compared to U.S. penny. Still, if you have been bitten by a kissing bug, it’s recommended to seek additional medical care for further testing. Read also:‘Kissing bug’ on the rise: Everything you need to know about dangerous infectionJust how deadly is the kissing bug, Chagas Disease?

Get ready to hear that eerie noise that can only come from a cicada! Experts said a massive amount of the noisy bugs are making their way to the skies after 17 years underground, according to a report from CNN. They believe as many as one and a half million cicadas may emerge in parts of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. Cicadas dont pose a threat to people and do not bite or sting, experts said. Murder hornets have arrived for the first time ever in the U.S., report says

On the popular platform, people have been posting videos of themselves soaking strawberries in salt water for 30 minutes to see whether bugs come out of them. So far, videos posted by users appear to show maggots, spiders, and other bugs crawling in and out of the berries. "If you're eating fresh produce, you're eating bugs," Greg Loeb, an entomologist and professor at Cornell University, told CNN. Eating those bugs won't make you sick." By the time you eat your strawberries, the only bugs you'll ingest are the tiny ones that you wouldn't even notice.

On Brave Wilderness’ “Breaking Trail” YouTube show, the host, Coyote Peterson, follows adventure in a variety of wildlife areas. RELATED: “Murder Hornets” are in US; Can the insects possibly migrate to San Antonio or South Texas? He travels across the area for days in search of the hornet until he finally finds one on his last day. To let the hornet sting him. “When the stinger went into my arm, I had a wave come over me and I got super dizzy,” he said.

The idea of eating insects may be catching on in the U.S., with more and more businesses catering to appetites for insect protein.