Flying Insects Common in Texas

The "Field Guide to Texas Insects" states that the number of insects in Texas ranges between 25,000 and 30,000 species. Many insects are widespread and often become numerous during certain periods of the year, but five flying insects are commonly reported to the Texas Agricultural Extension Service each year.

Texas is known for being hot, but the state experiences periods of heavy rain, resulting in flooding and areas of standing water in which mosquitoes love to breed. When the temperatures rises, the mosquitoes hatch. Large populations of mosquitoes can cause irritation and sometimes death in livestock. The standing-water mosquitoes are more dangerous because they are more likely to carry diseases like West Nile virus and encephalitis.

Members of the fly family, lovebugs earned their name because they mate in swarms around roads and buildings after heavy rains. Such large numbers of lovebugs create problems for drivers as their cars become spattered when they drive through the swarms, resulting in clogged radiator fins, which can cause cars to overheat. The black-and-orange insects spattered on the windshields can obscure vision, and if the dead insects are not cleaned off, they can ruin the car's finish. Many Texas drivers buy netting to stretch over the front grills and wind deflectors for the hoods of their cars to keep the lovebugs from hitting the windshield.

The Mexican honey wasp is common all over South Texas. Their nests can be found in the mid canopy of trees and high shrubs, but it is not uncommon to find the nests around your home underneath eaves. The wasps sting hard when sufficiently provoked, and their barbed stinger stays in the wound if the victim is a human or other large animal. They actively forage around flowers during the day, and all colony members rest on the nest at night.

The most common bee in Texas is the carpenter bee, known for tunneling into rotting decayed wood or hollow plants to nest. They usually emerge from the tunnels in April or May. The carpenter bee is large, about an inch long and often mistaken for a bumblebee. It is metallic blue-black and is covered with orange or bright yellow hair. Carpenter bees do not typically damage homes, but structural repairs may be necessary if colonies are present year after year in the same timber. Persistence in locating the nesting site and applying insecticide will control the problem.

Known for long-horned cattle, Texas even has long-horned bugs. Categorized by their long antennae, twig girdlers are a type of beetle found throughout the state. Nicknamed "flying beavers," they damage all sorts of trees, including hickory, walnut, pecan, red oak and elm trees. Damage appears mainly in late summer and fall when adult beetles are active. Leaves on the girdled branches turn brown, die and fall, and the branches often fall from the trees during high winds and storms. Some adults have been found indoors, carried in on firewood that is stored in the home.